Player Choices
by psychored1911
Summary: This is what happens when Yu Narukami strays from his scripted dialogue. All hell breaks loose when he acts even bolder than he ever did before.
1. Chapter 1

**Player Choices**

**By psychored1911**

**Discaimer: I don't own Persona 4 or Persona 4 Golden**

**This is what happens when Yu Narukami strays from his scripted dialogue in Inaba. I hope that you enjoy. Now, on with the show!**

**4/11- Afternoon**

One could say I don't have many close relationships with other people. It's not really my fault; I always had to move from place to place because of my parents' jobs. As anyone can see, I have absolutely no close relationships to speak of, no real friends, and no sense of belonging in anywhere.

Wow, I am a loser.

Anyways, now I'm supposed to go to my Uncle Dojima's place in this place called Inaba. I apparently met him when I was in diapers, but I don't remember much about him.

Well, I hope I don't get too connected to him. It will just end up like the rest of my relationships; I have to leave and abandon any sort of attachment I have for them. I've done this so many times I've lost count-

Oh god, I AM a loser.

Ah screw this; I'm taking a nap.

_**Hallucination**_

_*Vrrrr…*_

Uh… Okay, I hope I'm dreaming right now, because when I woke up, I found myself in what looks like the back of a limousine, with a lot of blue décor and lots of alcohol bottles…

Oh god, please tell me I didn't get drunk or anything with some total strangers, did I? This isn't like those messed up movies, right?!

After my somewhat panic attack, I noticed a dude with a huge nose and a lady in blue next to him. And by dude with a huge nose, I mean DAMN! That thing looks like it could poke an eye out or something! It looks like it's reaching right across the stupid table! What the hell!

"Welcome to the Velvet Room…"

The guy with the big nose started to talk.

"Ah… It seems we have a guest with an intriguing destiny… *chuckle* My name is Igor… I am delighted to make your acquaintance."

The atmosphere in the room is really weird. Where am I?

"This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter… It is a room that only those who are bound by a 'contract' may enter… It may be that such a fate awaits you in the near future. Now then… Why don't you introduce yourself…?"

I don't even know why I'm giving a stranger my name. I swear this is breaking those rules they taught in elementary school about talking to a suspicious looking old stranger in a back of a vehicle.

"My name is Yu Narukami."

"Hm… I see. Now, let's see into your future, shall we?"

He took out some tarot cards.

"Do you believe in fortune telling?"

_Only when it says that I have good luck._

He then separates them.

"Each reading is done with the same cards, yet the result is always different…*chuckle* Life itself follows the same principles, doesn't it?"

He flips over one of the cards. It says XVI and it kind of looks like a tower that was hit by lightning.

"Hm. The Tower in the upright position represents the immediate future. It seems a terrible catastrophe is imminent. The card indicating the future behind that is…"

He flips over another card. This is one of the coolest magic tricks I have ever seen he didn't even touch any of them.

"The moon in the upright position. This card represents "hesitation" and "mystery"… Very interesting indeed."

He may say this but I really don't understand this kind of fortune telling.

"It seems you will encounter a misfortune at your destination, and a great mystery will be imposed upon you."

_Great…_

"In the coming days, you will enter into a contract of some sort, after which you will return here. The coming year is a turning point in your destiny… If the mystery goes unsolved, your future may be forever lost."

_That makes it sound worse…_

"My duty is to provide assistance to our guests to ensure that does not happen."

He then makes the cards disappear from the table. Coolest. Magic. Trick. Ever.

"Ah! I have neglected to introduce my assistant to you. This is Margaret. She is a resident of this place, like myself."

_Did he just say 'resident'? _He doesn't stay here 24/7, does he?

"My name is Margaret. I am here to accompany you through your journey." She said to introduce herself.

"Until then, farewell…"

The dream ended and I woke up on the train.

This may be the weirdest thing that has ever happened to me.

**Later**

After I got off the train, I walked out of the station and started to wait for uncle Dojima.

As I waited, I looked to my right; there were these two sleazy looking guys coming onto this girl with perverted looks on their faces. It was obvious that the girl looked uncomfortable, and that something really bad was going to happen.

"Excuse me," I got the attention of the two sleazeballs "I think you are making the little lady uncomfortable. Could you please leave her alone?"

Sleazeball #1 frowned "Why don't you mind your own business?"

Sleazeball #2 calmed down his friend "Now, now. We can let this guy have her after we have _our_ way with her."

Yep, these douchebags are total pervs, and this girl looks like she needs help…

**Call the cops  
Beat these assholes to a pulp**

**I don't think I have enough Courage**** Yeah right, I have enough Courage for this**

I ran towards Sleazeball #1 and slammed my fist into his face, knocking him onto his back.

"AUGH!" Sleazeball #1 scrambled back to his feet as Sleazeball #2 helped him back up. "Shit! This son of a bitch just broke my nose!"

"You little prick!" Sleazeball #2 pulled out a knife from his pocket and pointed it at me "You're so dead, you fucker!"

Yep, should have thought this through…

**Grab the girl and run**

**Stand your ground**

I quickly grabbed the girl's arm and bolted away from these sleazeballs as fast as I possibly could.

**15 minutes later**

When I thought we were far enough, I stopped and took an actual look at her. She was, in a word, unfriendly-looking. Okay, that's two words, but yeah. Though I have to admit, she's really cute.

"Tch, I didn't need your help! I could've handled it on my own!" The Unfriendly Girl spat.

"Right, like you _so_ had it covered."

The Unfriendly girl blushed, before yelling "S-Shut up! Ihateyoustupidjerkface!"

"It's good you're safe." I said as I walked away.

"…Hey."

I turned around to look at her.

"You dropped this." She said while holding a piece of paper.

I could have just said **"Thank you."** I could have also said **"It's not mine."** Words cannot describe why I smiled and said what I had said next.

"**You really wanted my attention that badly that you pickpocketed me? You really are something." **

"What?! I didn't- S-Shut up!" she seems really flustered when I said that, all red and blushing like a tomato.

I should probably stop teasing her.

"I appreciate it, cutie." I said as I took the piece of paper from her hand. Again, I have no explanation for why I said that.

"What does that mean?!" she screamed. I ignored her and left for the train station. I was late anyway.

I got back to the train station. No one was there. There are only two explanations for that. Either they didn't arrive yet or they left before finding me. Knowing my luck, it was probably the second one.

"Hey! Over here!" I turn around and see a middle aged man and a little girl and I walk over to them.

"Well, you're more handsome in person than in your photo. Welcome to Inaba. I'm Ryotaro Dojima. I'll be looking after you. Let's see… I'm your mother's younger brother… and that about sums it up."

I could have said **"It's nice to meet you.", "it's been a long time.", or nothing at all.** Oddly enough I was concentrating more on the kid next to him.

"**Hello, who's this little lady?" **I said with a smile. I don't know why but the kid looked kind of afraid of me. I wanted to make her feel comfy near me, we were gonna share the same roof after all.

She hesitantly came out from behind him and took out her hand. "I-I'm Nanako."

My uncle looked at me with a surprised look. "Would you look at that; she's taken a liking to you already."

She punches him in the arm.

"Ow, hahaha. Well then, let's going, my car's over there."

**5 minutes later, in the car**

"I got to go to the bathroom." Nanako tugged at Uncle Dojima's shirt.

"Ok, we'll go to the gas station." He said as he pulled over to a gas station.

"Can you go to the bathroom by yourself?" he asked.

"Uh-huh" she replied as left the car. He then turned his attention to the gas station attendant

I got out as well out of complete boredom.

The gas station attendant then directed his attention to me. "Are you in high school? Does it surprise a city boy to see how little there is out here?"

This guy now has my complete attention.

"There's so little to do, I'm sure you'll get bored fast. You'll either be hanging out with your friends or doing part-time jobs. Speaking of which, we're actually looking for part-time help right now."

This guy then comes closer to me. Oh god, I think he's coming on to me.

"Give it some thought, why don't you? We don't mind if you're a student."

He extends his hand out. I start to think that he was only going for a handshake. Whatever. I shake his hand. Not even two seconds after he leaves, I start feeling ill. That bastard! He must have gave me something. What kind of jerk does that?

Nanako looks at me and asks: "…Are you okay? Did you get carsick? You don't look too good…"

Okay, the gas station attendant probably didn't give me anything. I do feel a little dizzy though. Maybe I'm just exhausted.

Dojima then looks at me and says "What's wrong? You okay?"

Three things came to my mind the instant he said that to me:

**I'm just tired**

**It's nothing**

**I just felt lightheaded**

So I don't know why I said "**I think I caught something from the gas station attendant when I shook hands with him."**

He starts laughing.

"Wow, that's pretty funny. But out of all seriousness you don't look well. Just go take a short walk, gets some fresh air and let me know when you're ready to go."

I took him up on that offer. There really wasn't much that stood out to me. A bookstore, a grocery store, okay a blacksmith shop kind of stood out but I didn't see much inside. The one thing that did stand out to me was that unfriendly looking girl from earlier. I don't know what it is about her, but I want to get to know her a bit more. I try to approach her.

She looks at me and says "Hm…? Have we met before?"

Out of the things I could've said, I could have told her "**I met you just now.", **I could have asked her "**What were you doing at the station?" **and I could have said "**It's just your imagination."**

For some reason, I blurted out the lamest pick up line that has ever come to my mind. It wasn't even a good pickup line. Not that there are any, but still.

"**I'm your husband from a past life."**

…

…

I can see her face getting redder and redder with each second- I'm starting to wonder how on earth that line worked in the first place.

"Whatiswrongwithyou?! Inevermetyoubeforeinmylife!"

Jeez, it was just a joke! I didn't think she would overreact _that_ much!

"Yeah, we've _never_ met, cutie." I said as I walked away. I wonder why I called her cutie again.

As I walked away, I could tell that she was still blushing. I went back to Dojima and we left. It took only a few minutes for us to arrive. It was a small two story house. For the next year, this place will be my home… It looked pretty cozy, actually.

**Evening**

We all sat down for dinner. It was the first time something like this had happened to me in a while. Dojima then started to talk:

"All right, let's have a toast. So… Your mom and dad are busy as always… They're working overseas, was it? I know it's only for a year, but getting stuck in a place like this because of your parents… It's rough being a kid. Well, it's just me and Nanako here, so it'll be nice having someone like you around. So long as you're here, you're part of the family, so make yourself at home."

I could have answered him; **"I'll do just that", "thank you for your kindness", "yes, sir!" **or even** nothing at all. **But for some reason, I chose to say; "**I'm going to be the best family member both of you have ever had!"**

"Uh…" I can tell that Uncle Dojima had no idea how to respond to that...

"Hee hee…" Well, at least I made Nanako laugh, that's a good enough consolation prize if you ask me…

"Well… anyway… let's eat." He said. Suddenly his phone rang. "Ugh… Who's calling at this hour?"

He goes on talking to the guy on the other end. "Sorry, but I gotta go take care of some business. Go ahead and eat without me. I don't know how late I'll be. Nanako, you help him out, okay?"

"Okay." She looks kind of upset when he leaves. She turns on the TV to the news; it's raining tomorrow.

This awkward silence is killing me. I'm alone with Nanako. What should I say? I could **ask what her dad does, say "It must be tough.''** Or I could have also said** I could have not say anything at all.** I choose to say; "**Are you always alone?"**

"Yeah, but it's ok. I'm used to it." She replied. I feel really bad about asking that. There is an awkward silence in the room. C'mon TV do something interesting. I can't take this awkwardness.

"And now for the local news." The TV announcer stated

Ok, there's no way that the news could be bad, it's local news, how bad could it get?

"City council secretary Taro Namatame is under fire for an alleged relationship with a female reporter. His wife, enka ballad sensation Misuzu Hiiragi, revealed to this station that she will likely pursue damages. In response, Eye television has decided to cancel all of announcer Mayumi Yamano's televised appearances. Until allegations of an affair with Mr. Namatame are reolved, she'll Remain off the air and out of the public eye."

…Really? In a small town like this? What are the odds?

Nanako took the remote and changed the channel. "This is boring."

A commercial started to air. "At Junes, every day is customer appreciation day. Come see for yourself, and get in touch with our products! _Every day's great at your Junes!"_

Nanako sang the part that she had heard. "_Every day's great at your Junes!" _She seems to like it.

She then looks at me and asks "…Aren't you going to eat?" I would feel awkward if I didn't.

**Later**

I went up to the room that I'm borrowing from Dojima. I'm tired. I just want to sleep. Starting today, I'm living here for a year. I wonder if everything will be all right… School starts tomorrow, I'm going to sleep.

**A/N: And done! Now, I have to say this right now; I don't sound like this in real life at all, I swear! In fact, most of this flirty dialogue comes from my twin brother, who sounds like this in real life. He also comes up with most of the comedy bits in most of my fics, so I have to thank him for that as well.. Anyways, writing this really got me out of my funk, and well I just hope this goes well. As always, please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Player Choices**

**By psychored1911**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona 4 or Persona 4 Golden. **

**4/11-Late night**

Am I dreaming?

There is a thick fog everywhere; I can barely see anything in front of me. What the heck am I standing on? A red brick road. Okay, it's the only thing that I can see so I better not step off of it. Since all I can actually see is these red squares, I have nothing better to do than follow it. Not my weirdest dream anyways.

…

…

…

Okay, so I've been walking here for a couple of hours… or a couple minutes. I dunno, my sense of time is messed up for some reason. I can find myself doing one thing in the afternoon and then it suddenly becomes evening. It's pretty weird if you ask me.

"Do you seek the truth…?" Some disembodied voice says.

You know, when people hear a disembodied voice, most normal people scream and run away. However, since I'm practically as abnormal as they get, I just keep striding on.

"If it's truth you desire, come and find me…"

See, there it goes again. This thing can really freak people out. Not for me though; something like this can't faze me-

Ow!

I hit some sort of wall. I think there is someone behind it. I'm going through it. Dream powers, activate!

_*FLASH*_

It opens in the coolest way possible. I swear it reminds me of a movie or game, but I can't tell.

As I think this, a strange figure is in front of me.

"So… You are the one pursuing me… Hmhmhm… Try all you like…"

Suddenly, my body started moving on its own as a katana materialized in my hands. I swung the katana and… missed completely. Seriously, it was right there and I missed.

"Hmmm… It seems that you can see a little, despite the fog…"

My body forced itself to swing at it again, and miss completely. I mean, if you're gonna force me to attack something, you must at least have the decency to make it connect, right?

"I see… Indeed… That is a very interesting information…"

The force that's making me attack the figure is slowly tiring me out.

"But… You will not catch me so easily… If what you seek is "truth," then your search will be even harder…"

My eyes are starting to get heavy. Great, now it's affecting my eyesight too.

"Everyone sees what they want to… And the fog only deepens… Will we meet again…? At a place other than here… Hmhm… I look forward to it…"

My eyes are getting heavier and… heavier… a…and…

**4/12-Early Morning**

"Breakfast is ready."

Nanako's voice rang out, jarring me from my dream. Or nightmare. I dunno what that was.

After I woke up, I put on my school uniform. Hey, I don't look half bad. I feel good in this. I can feel my confidence boost, like I can attract a super attractive idol or something. Nah, I'm getting ahead of myself. Like that could ever happen…

I went down to the living room and I find Nanako making food.

"Good morning." She said. "Okay. Let's eat."

Two things came into my head when she was done talking.

"**Did your father go to work?"**

"**Do you do the cooking?"**

I could tell that she did the cooking and I could tell that her dad wasn't home. Thinking this, I tasted some of her food; it was pretty tasty. So instead of the first two things, I said

"**You would make a great wife when you get older."**

"!" Nanako's face turned crimson red. Yay! She took the complement well.

After a lot of awkward silence from her she finally said; "You're starting school today, right? My school's on the way, so… let's go together." Nanako seems somewhat restless… I should head to school with her.

**School Zone, Samegawa flood plain**

I'm walking with Nanako, both of us under our own umbrella.

"You keep going straight from here. My school's this way. Bye." She said and then went out on her way.

I keep walk the road and start going down a hill that leads to an intersection in front of the school. The hill wasn't really that steep but it was really slippery. I almost slipped twice. I hope there isn't someone stupid enough to go down this hill on a skateboard or a bike or something like that.

"Whoaaaa…!"

I turn around to see a student try to go down the hill… on a bike... while holding an umbrella… Oh this isn't going to go well…

*_CRASH!*_

I was right… he seems to be in a lot of pain.

"Ngh… Urrrrghhhh…"

**Leave him alone**

**-(Help him up)**

I began to walk up to him about to get him back to his feet-

_*BRRRRRRRRRRRING!*_

Oh, that's the bell. Sorry dude, you're on your own. Can't be late for my first day after all.

**Later**

I'm in front of Yasogami High School. What kind of student life awaits me here? I at least hope the teacher isn't a jerk.

**Later**

Through a small window, I can see the people in class. I can also hear them from where I'm at.

I can hear some students by the window. They really don't like the homeroom teacher and they know a transfer student is coming. Wow, they were talking about me. Sweet, I'm popular!

There was even the guy on the bike earlier. He is talking with a pretty girl with short hair.

"A transfer student from the city… Just like you, huh, Yosuke? ...Huh? You look dead today." Said the cute short-haired girl.

"Yeah, um… I don't wanna talk about it…"

She then directed her attention to a hot black-haired girl in front of her.

"What's with him?

"Who knows?"

The teacher went in and I went in shortly after him. As he went in, the rest of students took their seats.

"Awright, shut your traps!" He barked.

Damn it, this guy's a jerk.

"I'm Kinshiro Morooka, your homeroom teacher from today forward! First things first! Just 'cause it's spring doesn't mean you can swoon over each other like love-struck baboons."

Yep, shouldn't have kept my hopes up. This guy's a douche.

"Long as I'm around, you students are going to be pure as the driven snow!"

What a hypocrite; I can see an idol photo book under your podium. That girl is in a bikini! She even looks younger than these guys! And- oh dear god, is it me or does it look _sticky_? That's just sick!

"Now I hate wasting my time, but I'd better introduce this transfer student. This sad sack's been thrown from the big city out to the middle of nowhere like yesterday's garbage."

Oh _HELL_ no!

"And he's just as much of a loser here as he was there, so you girls better not get any ideas about hitting on him! Tell 'em your name, kid, and make it quick."

I wasn't just about to say "**Nice to meet you all." **or** nothing**. I really wanted to say "**You calling me a loser?"** but I wanted more than that. I could tell that no one in the class liked him and I wasn't going to let him get away with calling me all that. So I decided that I would give my new classmates a gift; I was gonna give them one hell of a show. I smiled and said:

"**Says the guy with the buck teeth, idol mag and the dead-end job."**

The attention of the entire class including our teacher was now directed to me. _Perfect._

"Hrnh… That's it, you're on my shit list, effective immediately. Now listen up! This town is miles away from your big city of perverts and assholes, in more ways than one."

"Apparently not far enough from one pervert and asshole."

Again, everyone's attention was directed to me. I can see him losing it.

"You better not even think of getting involved with the girls here, let alone abusing them!"

"Says the creepy sex offender with the bikini photo book of that girl from the weight loss drink commercial."

He stands there speechless. I got the jackass in a corner.

I walk up to an empty desk and ask the girl next to it: "Is this seat taken?"

The girl nearly jumped back in shock "Uh… yeah sure… I guess…"

I took a seat and opened up my books. Yep, feeling pretty good about myself.

**After School**

The school intercom turned on.

"Attention, all teachers. Please report immediately to the faculty office for a brief staff meeting. All students must return to their classrooms and are not to leave the school until further notice."

King Moron then left the classroom. Three students then came to the window after they heard a police siren go by. It can't be that interesting, can it? Ugh… how much longer do I have to stay back here?

The school intercom turns on again.

"Attention, all students. There has been an incident inside the school district. Police officers have been dispatched around the School Zone. Please stay calm and contact your parents or guardians as soon as possible, and quickly leave the school grounds. Do not disturb the police officers. Head directly home. I repeat…"

Some students were surprised that something happened. People in my old school never reacted that way. No seriously, there could be a dead body right in front of them and they will just hop over it like a minor inconvenience. There's no way that this place can be boring enough that a stupid police siren warrants the attention of an entire class.

"Hey, new guy!" I turned around; the cute short-haired girl and the hot long-haired girl approached me. Damn, I got two hot chicks approaching me on my first day. Lucky me!

"First of all, I just wanna say how awesome you were when you put King Moron in his place!" The short-haired girl beamed at me "I mean, nobody in class had the guts to say anything like that to his face!"

"Or mention the idol mag under the desk." I added.

The short-haired girl gave me a puzzled look "Wait, you didn't make that up?"

"**Duh."**

**-"I think it was that idol from the weight-loss drink commercial."**

"**Of course I did. What kind of self-respecting teacher would have one?"**

"Weight loss drink? You mean Risette?" the short-girl cringed in disgust "Oh gross! She should only be a sophomore! Why would King Moron have that?"

Believe me, you _don't_ want to know the answer to that question. Or even contemplate about for a prolonged period of time. You know what, I should change the subject right now so we don't think about it at all.

"Um, I'm sorry. I never caught your name. My name's Yu Narukami. What's yours?" I introduced myself, hoping it would rail our conversation into a different conversation.

The short-haired girl blinked "Oh, I nearly forgot!" she sheepishly scratched her head "I'm Chie Satonaka, You know I sit next to you, right?"

I could have said **"Of course.",** I also could've said **"You do?",** but that kinda makes me sound like an asshole. But even then, I somehow managed to blurt out:

"**Why was the seat empty? I'm sure a lot of guys would like to sit next to you."**

Chie blushed, but tried to laugh it off "Heh, I'm sure you tell that to every girl you meet."

I looked at her legs "Just the pretty ones. And, well, you do have nice legs." And damn were they nice.

Chie blushed even further, finding herself at a loss for words "Ah… Uh…"

Okay, I might've gone a bit too far with the nice legs thing.

Fortunately for her, her friend covered for her "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Yukiko Amagi. Nice to meet you." Yukiko smiled shyly at me.

"Nice to meet you too." I smiled back at her.

"Uh, umm, Miss Satonaka…"

I looked to my left; the guy who was dumb enough to hold an umbrella while riding a bike was nervously approaching us while holding a slightly dented DVD case. It must've been damaged when he crashed into the trash bins.

"This was really awesome. Like, the way they moved was just amazing to see…" he hastily shoved it into Chie's hands "And… I'm really sorry! It was an accident! Please just have mercy until my next paycheck! See ya! Thanks!" he bolted.

"Hey wait a sec!" Chie leapt into the air and gave him a flying jump kick right in the crotch.

_*WHACK!*_

Ouch! As cool as that was, even I felt that one!

Now with him paralyzed in pain, Chie opened up the case and gasped "What the!? I can't believe this! It's completely cracked… "My Trial of the Dragon"…!"

Trial of the Dragon? That old Kung-Fu movie? I admit it's a good movie, but it's nothing to cry over unless it was the limited edition director's cut that added nearly twenty minutes and an alternate ending- okay, I've got way too much free time on my hands.

"I think mine's cracked too…" the Bleak-looking student groaned as he caressed his throbbing crotch "C-Critical hit to the nads…"

Hell hath no fury like a woman whose stuff you broke…

"A-Are you all right?" Yukiko asked, worried.

"He's fine, Yukiko. Let's ditch him and go home."

He looks like he's in a lot of pain… I have the weirdest feeling that Chie will come back and kick me if I try to help him… sorry dude, you're on your own again.

**Later**

We began walking towards the gate when this creepy looking guy-and by creepy, I mean dead fish-eye and ugly face creepy- walked towards us.

"You're Yuki, right?" Creepy McDeadeye asked Yukiko "Y-You want to go hang out somewhere?"

Wow. Worst pickup line ever. Oh dude, your chances of getting in the sack with her were bad to begin with… but a pickup line as bad as that? Is this one of those stupid hidden camera shows where they hire someone to do something stupid?

"What… Wh-Who are you?"

With everyone's attention obviously not on me, I looked around for that hidden camera while Yukiko wonders who dead fish-eye here is.

"Um, s-so… are you coming or not?"

He did not just say that. That must have been the most desperate thing I have ever heard. That made the pickup line look good. But only slightly.

"I-I'm not going…"

I knew that was coming.

"…Fine!" He then runs off.

Jeez, looks like some people can't handle rejection.

""Wh-What did he want from me…?"

Really?

"What did he want..? Obviously, he was asking you out on a date." Chie replied.

Yukiko grew a very surprised look on her face, which kinda speaks volumes of her clearly sheltered personality.

"But then again, that was way over the top." Chie commented "It was creepy how he called you Yuki all of a sudden."

I know; if someone gave me a nickname, I would be creeped out too. Unless it was a hot girl who was into me, then I'd be all for it. Happened to me once. Loved it.

"Yo Yukiko-san." Biker boy came towards us with his somehow undamaged bike "Turned down another lovelorn fool, huh? Man, you're cruel… You got me the same way last year."

I can totally see that.

Yukiko blinked in confusion "I don't recall doing that."

I can totally see that too.

Yosuke beamed up "Whoa, you serious? So then, you wanna hang out sometime!?"

Yukiko shook her head "I'd rather not."

Totally saw that coming.

"That'll teach me to get my hopes up…" he sweatdropped "Anyways, you two better not pick on the transfer student too much." He got on his bike and rode off.

"We're just curious, is all!" Chie barked back at him.

"U-um, sorry for dragging you into this…" Yukiko apologized.

No prob. I'm usually dragged away by curious students every time I transfer. By this point, I'm used to it.

As she apologized, a small crowd was forming behind us.

"C'mon, let's go. Everyone's staring."

And we left.

**Later**

As we were walking, Chie asked me why I was here. So I told her.

"Ah…. So you came here because of your parents' job. Haha I thought it was something way more serious."

Like what? Witness Protection?

"There really is nothing here, huh?"

I dunno. I just got here yesterday.

"That's what makes it nice, but there is nothing much we can show to people from outside. Though, there is something from Mt. Yasogami… I think our dyed clothes or pottery or something is kinda famous. Oh wait, and there's the Amagi Inn! Yukiko's family runs it. It's the pride of Inaba!"

Sounds cool.

"Huh? It's… just an old inn."

"No way, it's been in all sortsa magazines as a hidden treasure. It's a great inn! It's been going for generations, and Yukiko here is going to take over someday."

Sounds impressive.

"Their inn actually attracts a lot of visitors to Inaba. It pretty much keeps this town going."

Even more impressed.

"…I don't think that's entirely true."

"So, tell me. You think Yukiko's cute, huh?"

She actually was. Now that I think about it, she probably gets that all the time. Even by complete strangers. I could've said **"I think so, yeah." Or "It's hard to say." **I could have also said **nothing.** I don't know why I said:

"**Did you want me to hit on her?"**

Chie and Yukiko blushed, definitely not expecting that.

""Wh-Whoa whoa whoa, I didn't mean it like that-" Chie started backtracking but I already started approaching Yukiko.

"I think you look really nice." I said simply.

"…"

"…"

They just stare at me, looking at me as though they were expecting more.

"…That's it?" Chie said finally.

"Well I wasn't going to confess love and ask her out the first day I met her." I said with a shrug. Did they really expected any less of me? Everyone has standards, don't they?

"U-Um Hey, what's that over there?" Chie said in a desperate attempt to point the conversation in a different direction.

She pointed at a giant crowd a couple feet away. We walked over to it, but from the looks of it, it seems to be a crime scene. Meh, I've seen bigger in the city, but it's usually something stupid like a cat up a tree or some drunk making a commotion.

"Hey, what're you doing here?" We turned around; it was uncle Dojima. Looks like he was working here.

I could've said **"Did something happen?"**. I also could have also said **"We were curious."** Of course I also could've tod the truth and said **"We're just passing by." **But since I don't exactly know where I was, I said:

"**I got lost."**

He scratched his head, definitely not surprised "Well, I suppose that's natural. You haven't even been here for two days, after all."

"Yes, and these two told me that they would be glad to show me around town, right?"

Chie caught on instantly "Yeah, we were just showing him around town, right Yukiko?"

Unfortunately, Yukiko didn't immediately catch on "Huh? I thought we were-"

"Play along." I whispered into her ear.

"I mean, yeah! We were going to show him to that Chinese Diner." Yukiko ad-libbed.

"Yeah, we were going to show him their famous Mega Beef Bowl!"

Uncle Dojima stared at us for a couple seconds before shrugging his shoulders "Alright then, I hope you all get along with him."

"Will do, sir!" Chie said as she and Yukiko led me away.

As I walked away, I swore I heard Uncle Dojima say something along the lines of "Heh, it's barely his second day here and he's already got two pretty girls with him. He's definitely his father's kid. Still don't know how Sis managed to get that guy to settle down."

**A/N: I hope you enjoy! And yes, I made him flirt with both Chie and Yukiko _at the same time_. I have not decided on a love interest. This is how my brother acts towards a bunch of his friends, believe me. Most of Narukami's antics are based on how my brother acts. He's actually one of the coolest people i know because he knows how to talk his way out of most trouble and this weird habit of his to unintentionally flirt and not notice that he's actually doing it. Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Player Choices**

**By psychored1911**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona 4 or Persona 4 Golden**

**4/12-Evening**

I go inside my uncle's house. The food from that restaurant was amazing! Too bad I couldn't get that Mega Beef Bowl I heard about; they only serve it when it's raining, which is weird cause' it was raining this morning. I guess it has to be raining all day?

Whatever.

When the time comes, I'm will do it, and I will emerge victorious. That I swear.

I take a good look around me, I didn't even notice that Nanako was all alone.

I go up to her and sit down opposite from her.

Should I:

**-Say something**

**Just let her be**

I should probably say something.

"Hey, how's it going?"

She looks up at surprise. She then starts to stare at me.

Okay, starting to get a bit awkward. Not that I could blame her; this is a first for me too. I never had anyone around me when I was growing up. My parents were never around, and I spent countless nights waiting for a family dinner that never came to be. That heart-wrenching feeling of loneliness haunted me for years. If she's feeling the same way, then-

No, I won't let her go through the same thing.

…Okay, she's not saying anything. Not a good sign in my books.

"Are you always like this? Home alone I mean."

I asked, hoping for some sort of reaction from her.

"…N-Not always…" Nanako answered quietly "Sometimes dad comes home and talks to me…"

Inside, I sighed in relief. She's not at the point of no return yet. But she's really close.

"Hey Nanako," I turned to her and gave put my hands on her shoulders "Look, if you want someone to talk to or play with, you can always ask me." I smile at her "I'll always be there for you, okay?"

Wow, that sounded so very corny. It's like I took that straight from any cheesy romance movie scene.

Nanako slowly smiled at me "O-Okay…" she said adorably before hugging me.

"Around noon today, a woman was found dead near the Samegawa River in Inaba."

Aaaaaaand there goes the mood. Nanako almost immediately gets off me and focuses on the news.

Then again, this probably explained those police cars from earlier.

"The deceased has been identified as Ms. Mayumi Yamano, a 27-year old announcer at the local television station."

Wasn't she the chick who had the affair with that City Council guy, Namatame something I think? Hard to believe he'd cheat on someone like Misuzu Hiiragi. Meh, celebrity marriages never work out anyway.

"The initial results of the Inaba Police Department's investigation have revealed…"

"Ah! The Inaba Police Department! Th-That's where Dad works!" Nanako exclaimed.

Uncle Dojima's a cop? Huh, learn something new every day.

Nanako's trembling, obviously frightened.

I should say something…

I could say **"Are you worried about him?" **I could also say **"It'll be all right." **I could say **nothing at all.**

Instead I chose to say: **"Are you okay?" **

She responds by saying: "yeah, it's his job, so it happens."

"The body was found hanging from a large television antenna atop a local resident's roof. Authorities are uncertain as to why the body was in such a state. With the cause of death also uncertain, police continue to investigate whether the death is an accident or a homicide."

Wait, how can a TV antenna support a human body? Okay, getting off topic.

"A thick fog common to the area has slowed their progress, and plans to fully canvas the area are delayed until tomorrow."

…Well that was depressing…

The TV changes to a commercial for that department store.

"Oh, it's Junes!"

"At Junes, Every day is customer appreciation day. Come see for yourself, and get in touch with our products! Every day's great at your Junes!"

Nanako, who was clearly enjoying herself, repeats the ending jingle. "Every day's great at your Junes!"

She's looking at me as if she wants me to do something.

I think about what I can say:

"**Do you like that song?"**

"**You're a good singer."**

"**Your Junes!"**

Ignoring everything in my head, I say: **"Encore!"**

I think that should cheer her up. She goes on singing the song over and over to herself.

It takes herself another 5 minutes of singing until she tires herself out. I then put her to bed and go to sleep.

**4/13- Early Morning**

After getting up and putting my clothes on, I start walking to school. This place has regained its calmness from yesterday. Wait, isn't that the guy who crashed on the bike yesterday? And isn't he getting faster-

_*CRASH*_

Twice in a row this week. Ouch… and landing in a trash can too.

"Someone…"

I should help this guy; he seems to have a lot of problems. And he's kinda rolling in the trash.

I pick him up and get the trashcan off of him.

"Whew, you saved me. Thanks! Umm… Oh Yeah, that's right. You're that transfer student… Wait, what was your name again?"

Real nice dude.

"Sorry, it's just that you caused so much commotion when you came, that I don't remember you introducing yourself."

… Huh. Actually now that I think about it, I don't recall ever giving the class my name. I think the most I did was tell that pervy teacher off and then sit next to Chie. Wasn't I supposed to write my name on the board too?

"It's Narukami, Yu Narukami." I said in typical James Bond fashion.

"I'm Yosuke Hanamura. Nice to meet ya."

I could have said **"Nice to meet you too."** I could have also said **"Are you okay?"** I could have even asked if his **bike was okay.**

I chose to say: **"I like you already."**

Yosuke smiled at me "Yeah, the feelings mutual, man." He said as we started walking to the school together.

"Say, did you hear about the incident from yesterday? They found that announcer lady hanging from an antenna! You think it was some kinda warning? There's no way that weird could've been an accident."

I really don't want to talk about death. It's a really depressing topic to talk about. It was under pretty strange circumstances, but still. I have to say something anyway.

"Maybe we're being tested by something greater than ourselves." I joked.

Yosuke laughed "Yeah, a goddess will be trying to cause housewives to gossip."

Heh, this guy's funny.

_*BRRRRRRRRRRRING!*_

"Oh crap, we're late." Yosuke cursed as he points at his bike. "You wanna ride? It's a little squeaky, but it should be fine."

I took a step back. Yeaaaaaah, I kinda saw your biking skills yesterday… I'm not going anywhere near that deathtrap.

**After School**

Yosuke stretched his limbs before approaching me "So, you getting used to this place?"

Honestly, I could have said** "Yeah."**, I also could have said **"Not yet."**, but, as I glanced at Chie and Yukiko I ended up saying:

"**Well, the girls here are pretty cute."**

Yosuke laughed "Yeah, you seem to be the kind of guy who notices the girls first."

Meh, I wouldn't know; I usually don't hang around my old schools to know what people think of me.

"It's good you seem optimistic about this place," Yosuke sighed, before cheering up. "Hey, how about I treat you to some of this town's grilled steak. It's the least I could do for you helping me."

Suddenly, Chie walked over to us, scowling "What about me, huh? No apologies? My 'Trial of the Dragon.'"

…Something tells me Chie did get the special edition version…

Yosuke groaned "Urgh… You always come around when I'm talking about food…"

Chie turned to Yukiko "How about it, Yukiko? Don't you think he should treat us, too?"

Is it me or does Chie come off as a bit assertive when referring to Yukiko- nah, probably my imagination.

Yukiko shook her head "I'll pass… I don't want to gain any more weight. I need to help out at the inn today anyway."

Yosuke looked at her, amazed "Wow, Yukiko-san! You started training to take over the business?"

Wow, that's actually pretty impressive for someone like her. I pictured her as a bit frail when I first saw her. 'Never judge a book by their cover' they always say.

Yukiko shook her head "It's not like that! I'm just helping out when it gets busy." She looked at the clock "Well, I should get going." She said as she started walking away.

As she walked away, Chie just shrugged simply "Oh well. We should get going too."

"Alright then, it's a date." I said simply.

Chie flinched, her face turning red "D-Date?"

Okay, I know it's kinda my fault for the poor choice of words, but I can't help but tease her for this.

I wanted to say **"Yeah, it's a date when you're with two guys."** No wait, that'll just get me slapped. I'll just say:

"**Do you want it to be a date?"**

"…U-Uh…" Chie stumbled on her words, not knowing what to say.

Yosuke blinks in surprise "Wait, dude are you making me pay for you to go on a date with Chie-GURK!"

Chie slams her foot into Yosuke's gut, making him collapse into the ground "I-It's not a date! We're just going to have you treat us for what you owe us!" Chie stammers, hoping to salvage some sense of pride I accidentally shattered.

"Y-You could've said that without kicking me…" he groans.

**Junes, Food Court**

Yosuke walks over to us with a tray of food. Looks tasty.

"_THIS_ is the cheap place you were talking about…?" Chie said, sounding very disappointed "They don't have grilled steak here."

I'm not complaining. As long as it tastes good.

"Yeah, well, once you hopped on the freeloader train, I had to change my plans." Yosuke told her.

"Still, that's no reason to take us to your place."

His place? He doesn't live here does he? I guess it beats living in a limo with a dude with a huge nose.

"Dude, this isn't my place or anything."

Okay, he doesn't live here. That's a good sign he isn't crazy.

"Oh, right. I haven't told you yet, huh?"

Told me what?

"I moved here from another city about six months back. This location just opened up, and my dad was assigned to manage it. So our entire family came out here."

Moved because of a parent's job… I can relate.

He takes a cup from off the table.

"Here, this is to welcome you to town. Satonaka, yours is on me too."

"Yeah, I know."

We start making small talk. So this is what hanging out after school is… not bad.

"It's only been half a year since this place opened up, but I haven't been to the shopping local district much since. A lot of stores there started closing, and… Oh, uh…"

An awkward silence comes out. Does she live there or something?

"You can't blame it all on Junes, can you?"

How is this not the weirdest conversation I've had recently?

"Hey… It's Saki- senpai! Sorry, be right back."

Two things came to my mind when Yosuke started going over to the pretty girl sitting down he obviously had a crush on. I could've asked **"Who's that?" **or **"Is she Yosuke's girlfriend?"** Instead I said something a little mean.

"**Why do I get the feeling that he's whipped?"**

Chie sputtered out her drink and starts laughing, while Yosuke was already on his way to talk to that girl. I can't believe he didn't hear me say that.

"Something like that. That's Saki Konishi. Her family runs a liquor store in the shopping district. I think she's working here part time though."

I can see the expression on Chie's face, she looks like she's still laughing at my joke.

Honestly I hope things are going well for him. I'm not sure if they're a couple but I think he likes her. I turn over so can see if I can overhear them. No such luck though. Wait, are they coming over here?

She says: "Are you the transfer student? Oh, did you hear about me already? It must be nice to have someone else from the big city to talk to, huh?"

I didn't get a chance to answer any of those questions she asked. Do they really expect me to talk over her?

"I don't see Hana-chan hanging out with other guys much."

So he's hanging out with a lot of girls? That doesn't sound so bad.

Yosuke looks nervous. "Uh—Not necessarily…"

"He doesn't have too many friends, so I hope you two get along good. Hana-chan's a good guy, but he can get nosy sometimes. You gotta tell him right to his face when he starts to annoy you."

I don't know why but that sounds like a warning. I could have said **"Yeah, he's annoying."** But I don't think he's annoying. I could have said **"That's not true." Or "Nah, he's a great guy."** But I can see the look in this guy's eyes. He seems to really like her; why not make him look good in front of her?

I say: **"You seem to know a lot about his life. Do you have a crush on him or something?"**

Yosuke panics. "Dude!"

"Well it's not like I haven't thought about it before."

Yosuke looks confused. "Huh?"

Wait, is she taking that seriously?

"Well, my break's about over. Back to work I go… Laters."

She leaves, Yosuke looks confused. "What just happened? What did she mean by that?"

I have done so many things weird in my life yet this is the thing that shocks me.

…

..

I broke the silence; I caused it so might as well.

"She seems nice."

"She has a younger brother, and she treats me pretty much the same way…"

Aaaaaand from that I doubt you will be getting her anytime soon.

Chie goes and says "Ohhh, you don't want her treating you like a brother, huh? Haha, I get it… So that's how it is… The daughter of a local family run liquor store and the scion of the invading chain… Hoho, the flame of forbidden love!"

"Wha-!? Dude, it's not like that."

It's one of the better forms of forbidden love, I'll tell you that. If I were you I'd take it and go.

"Oh really… Well, I know just the thing to cheer up that lovesick heart. You ever hear of the Midnight Channel?"

The what?

"You're supposed to look into a TV that's switched off, alone, exactly at midnight on a rainy night. While you're staring at your own image, another person will appear on the screen… And they say that person's your soul mate."

I have the weirdest feeling this was made by unlucky losers who hope for things to happen.

"What? For a second, I thought you were actually going to say something useful…"

I don't think anything she could say about getting a girl can help you.

"How can you get all excited over such a childish urban legend like that?"

I kinda have my doubts about it, but it does sound interesting…

"Childish, huh? You don't believe it, do you!?" Chie said, getting all up in his face.

"Of course I don't!" Yosuke barked back at her.

Why do I have the feeling that these two fight more often than I think they do?

"Well, it's raining tonight! Let's all try it out—then you'll see!" Chie replies.

I'm game for it.

"Try it out…? Wait, you haven't even tried it yourself!?" he looks surprised. "Wow, I'm trying to remember the last time I heard something this stupid…"

Says the guy who rode his bike into a trash can this morning.

"All that aside… you know that ''incident'' yesterday? Do you think it was murder?" Chie asks.

Well, it's clearly not tax fraud.

"Ooh, what if the culprit behind it was still lurking around…? Heehee."

…Why do people in this town like to talk about death?

"Sheesh, you shouldn't joke about stuff like that. Now who's the childish one…? All I am saying is, you guys better try it out tonight."

I'll do it. Might as well.

We started eating Yosuke's food and made idle chat before we go our separate ways.

**Evening**

I'm eating dinner alone with Nanako. An awkward silence fills the room… Like hell I'll let the awkward silence win. I gotta say something.

"**Did your father call?"**

"**Don't worry."**

"…"

**-Flip to a June Commercial**

I took the remote and flip channels until I see a familiar commercial.

"Every day is great at your Junes!"

Nanako instantly perked up and started Singing along to the tune "Every day is great at your Junes!"

Haha! Another good deed done!

She started singing along to the tune until we heard the door open.

"Oh! He's home!"

I look over and see that Uncle Dojima came back. He looks exhausted.

"What a day… I'm back. Did anything happen while I was out"

Nanako looks upset. "No. You're late again…"

Oh come on, I thought I cheered you up with that Junes Commercial!

…

Man, the air gets tense really quickly in this place.

"I'm sorry… Been busy at work." He sits down on the couch. "Can you put the news on for me?"

Nanako turns it to the news.

"Next, more details in the developing story incident in foggy Inaba. Announcer Mayumi Yamano's dead body…"

…Don't people here have anything else to talk about other than murder in this town?

"In addition, we now bring you an exclusive interview with the local student who found Ms. Yamano's body."

"_*sigh*_ An interview with the kid…? Where the hell did they find her?"

Uncle Dojima looks upset. I look up at the screen… Wait a second, why does that person look familiar?

Ugh. I don't even want to listen to this.

**Later**

It's raining outside and it's almost midnight. I wonder if this will really work. 'Your soulmate appears if you look into a TV on a rainy night.'… I personally doubt it'll work, but what the hell…

**2 minutes later**

Okay either my clock is off or it doesn't work.

I took a look at my phone. Oh, my clock is off by a few minutes. It might happen in like 3 seconds

**23:59:58**

**23:59:59**

**00:00:00**

_*static*_

What the…?

There is a dancing girl is on the screen. The Midnight Channel really does work!

_I am thou…_

Huh? Why does my head hurt so much?

_Thou art I…_

This hurts so much.

_Thou art the one who opens the door…_

I feel exhausted. What was that? Was that because of the Midnight Channel? That was insane. Is the TV working right or something? I poke the screen just to see if I I'm imagining things. The screen starts rippling like a pool of water.

…What? No, no, I must be imagining things. That can't be it.

I put my hand in even further. This better not be one of those things where you stick your hand into something and it turns out to be something gross inside.

I must be tripping right now to think that this works.

It went in.

…

…

I'm being pulled in! Oh crap, this is like that horror movie except that the victim (as in me) going in instead of the monster coming out!

I tried yanking myself out of the screen that's probably too small to suck me in anyway. C'mon Yu, you are stronger than a TV!... Never thought I'd think that…

I pull out a bit too hard and lose my balance.

_*THUD!*_

Ow. Okay, not tripping, just tripped… bad pun…

"Are you okay…?" I guess Nanako heard the thud.

"**I'm Okay."**

"**Kind of…"**

"**Did I wake you up?"**

I didn't say any of that. I said: **"Don't worry. I just tripped."**

"Oh, okay." I hear her return to her room.

"What's that noise up there? You better not have a girl over!"

Oh, Uncle Dojima heard me too-

Hey wait a sec, why does he think I have a girl up here?! I literally just got here a day ago! I know my other relatives tell me I inherited my dad's looks and charisma, but he wasn't a playboy or anything! ...Then again- NO! Get back to the situation at hand! Wonder about who your dad was later!

"**Even I'm not that good." **Okay, that's probably not the best thing to say.

"**I promise she'll be gone in like five minutes."** No wait that's worse! I can so last longer than five- Hey wait! That's not the part I should be concerned about! There's nobody but me up here! I'm still a virgin!

**-"I can personally guarantee that I don't have anyone up here."**

"...Alright then. Go to sleep."

…Why do I sense doubt from him?

You know what, I'm going to sleep. There's too much going on in my mind right now.

**A/N: And done! So, how'd you like it? By this point, you guys know how I based this Yu on my brother, he is a complete and utter flirt. The funny part is, is that he is only aware that he's flirting like 50% of the time. The other 50% he is completely unaware of what he's doing and then if he's called out on it, he doesn't even realize it and he denys it. This happened one time when it was our birthday and he was flirting with a waitress at a restaurant. He didn't even realize that after that one waitress left another one came over just to talk to him. Even later both offered a kiss to him, he thought it was a weird gesture because it was our birthday so he said no even though they genuinely wanted to kiss him. The whole time I was laughing my ass off. Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Player Choices **

**By psychored1911**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona 4 or Persona 4 Golden**

**4/14- Early Morning**

Ugh, last night was hell. What the hell was that? Did I really go through my TV last night? What would've happened if it wasn't too small? Would I have been sucked in there, trapped inside forever?

"Perfect timing! Sorry, move over!"

Huh? Oh, it's Chie. Why is she running in the rain?

She forces her way under my umbrella. Whoa, too close! Too close!

"I did have my own, but I saw this kung fu movie where they used an umbrella to pull off some sweet moves and… I accidentally broke mine trying to mimic the move." She chuckles, trying to hide her embarrassment.

And that kids, is why you don't mimic what you see on television.

"By the way… did you see it?"

I did see it. The strangest experience in my life.

But I can tell her that later. Now I could say **"I did." **Sweet and simple. But I also could lie and say **"See what?"**

But, considering the opportunity to mess with someone, I couldn't help but say:

"**You were on my screen. Are you my soul mate?**

"What!?"

Chie goes from wet to red in less than three seconds flat.

"I was kidding." I say.

"W-Why would you say something like that?" she stammers, almost sounding disappointed.

"Because it was funny." I blurted out. Oh now I _really_ sound like an asshole.

She's pouting. Okay I'm feeling pretty bad now, she's giving me a sarcastic look. I should apologize.

"I'm sorry."

And now she looks less upset. Upset. Just less.

"S-So, who did you really see?" she stutters.

"I dunno. All I know is I saw someone. It was too obscure to see any details besides the feminine build." I told her. "Who did you see?"

"Ah," Chie hesitated, stopping for a second or two "Never mind. I'll save it for when the others are around. We're gonna be late for school."

Huh? She's avoiding the topic? Did she see a girl like I did? Oh that's hot. Or better yet did she see me? Nah, that's pushing it. No way would a girl like her be interested in a guy like me.

We continued walking for a bit before she stops.

"Oh… U-Uhh…" Chie slowly starts backing away "I-It's kinda awkward to only bring this up now, but we're pretty close up here…" she starts backing up even further "U-Um, I'm gonna just go ahead and run the rest of the way!"

"**Don't worry about it."**

"**You'll catch a cold."**

"**Then let's race!"**

**-"Don't Slip."**

Chie blinks in confusion "Huh? Why would I slip?"

Oh, you're just tempting fate, now are you?

"See ya later!"

She barely made it 30 feet without slipping. This is starting to remind me of another person I know that slipped in the rain. Well at least she was on her feet and not on a bike. I go over to her and put the umbrella over her head.

"Wanna walk with me instead?"

She smiles and chuckles sheepishly. I'll take that as a yes.

**After School**

Ugggggghhhhhhhhhh…..that was so long! Do school days in this place last this long? It's only 3 and it feels like forever. And look here, there are girls talking about that murder a couple days ago. It's always sunny in Yasoinaba, now isn't it?

"Y-Yo. Um…"

Yosuke! Finally, something that isn't death. Wait, something doesn't feel right.

"It's, uh, it's not really that important, but…"

If it's something not important, then why do you look like you want to talk about something?

"Well, Yesterday on TV, I…" Yosuke hesitates on his words.

"So, what is it?" I ask.

"Oh, uhh… Never mind. Look, I'll tell you later. Ahaha…" he laughs nervously.

There's definitely something wrong going on…

"Yosuke, did you hear the rumor?" Chie suddenly cuts in "Saki-senpai's supposedly the one who discovered that body."

Saki-senpai? You mean that part-timer from yesterday?

"I wonder if that's why she looked so down… She doesn't seem to be at school today either."

Huh, really? She seemed fine last time I saw her. Though if you ask me, I almost sensed a tinge of annoyance from her whenever Yosuke was around. Either that or I was hungry. I dunno.

Yukiko gets up from her seat.

"Huh? Hey Yukiko, are you helping out at the inn today too?" Chie asks.

Oh, right she works at the inn…

She looks upset. "Things are really out of hand right now… I'm sorry."

Yosuke turns to Chie. "Is it just me, or does Yukiko-san seem way stressed out today?"

Nope, I'm seeing that too. It must be hard training for such an important job. Though if you ask me, I'd be afraid to take up such a job, knowing I'd be chained to it forever without being able to make my own fate.

"I guess they're running her ragged…" Chie shares my suspicions "By the way, did you see… it… last night?"

Is she talking about the Midnight Channel again?

Yosuke looks pale.

"Huh…? Uh, well… What about you?" Yosuke says hesitantly.

Dude, you didn't answer the question.

"I did! I seriously saw a girl!"

…What?

"But… my soulmate's a girl?"

_Niiiice_\- No, bad head! No thinking dirty thoughts!

"What's that supposed to mean? I couldn't quite tell who it was, but it was a girl for sure… Her hair was brown, about shoulder length. She was wearing our school uniform, and…"

Yosuke looks up quickly. "Hey… I think that's the same person I saw."

Huh?

"I couldn't make out that much detail, though. The image I saw was much blurrier…"

Chie even looks even more surprised. "Wait, so you saw it too!? And we saw the same girl…? Does that mean… we have the same soulmate?"

Well, _that_ put a weird image in my head.

"How should I know?" he turns towards me. "How 'bout you? Did you see it?"

I told them what happened to me last night.

"I saw a dancing girl with brown hair and then I heard some creepy voice… and then I got pulled through the TV screen. It would've sucked me in if it wasn't too small."

Wow, that sounded even crazier than I thought.

They both look at me like I'm crazy, can't say I blame them. Yosuke speaks up. "It sounds like we all saw the same person… But weird voices aside, what was that about getting sucked into your TV…? Were you that tired last night? You must've just fallen asleep in front of your TV."

I can't believe the obliviously whipped guy is telling me I'm nuts.

Chie speaks up. "That'd be one interesting dream though. I like the part where you got stuck 'cause your TV was too small. That's pretty realistic. If it had been bigger-"

At least she thought it was funny…

"Ohhh, that reminds me. Our family's been talking about buying a bigger TV."

Yosuke looks up at her. "Oh yeah? Well, flat screen TVs are definitely in these days. Wanna go check 'em out on the way back? We're beefing up our electronics department this month."

Chie grins "Oh, Definitely! My parents don't know anything about electronics, and I've just gotta see my kung-fu movies on the big screen!" she strikes a pose. "Hwa-taaaa!"

I wonder if she cares if other people might be able to see under her skirt.

"We've got pretty big ones in stock. I bet they'd be big enough for you to fit into, hehe." Yosuke smirks.

I should have known they wouldn't believe me. It would've felt less like added insult to injury hadn't it been said by the dude who had he brilliant idea of going down a slippery hill on a bike while holding an umbrella.

Ugh, never mind. I'll just go with you guys to Junes.

**Junes, Electronics department**

"Wow, this is huge! And…" Chie gaps at the huge TVS as she glances at the price tag "Holy crap, it's expensive! Who buys something like this?"

Someone who's totally compensating for something.

"I dunno… Rich folks?" Yosuke guesses with a shrug "Honestly, not many people shop for TVs here. That's why we don't have clerks around."

Or customers for TVs. I doubt anyone could even afford something like that in this kind of town.

"Huh… Not worth trying then, I guess. Well, at least looking's free." She actually looks a bit disappointed.

They both knock the TV screen a bit. Their hands don't go through the screen… Huh, maybe I was seeing things.

"Nope, can't get in. Figures."

Don't have to rub it in that much…

"Besides, these flat screen TVs are so thin, you'd just end up on the other side… Argh, what am I saying!?"

I think there is a better chance that I'll knock over an expensive TV.

They both go over to other TVs. If I was real, I would have been able to fit in here.

I put my hand against the screen, gently pushing though until it goes through… okay… Don't panic! Whatever you do, don't panic! This better not be one of those things where you stick your hands into something- no wait that joke is too messed up even for my standards!

The two of them approach me from behind, probably gasping in shock.

"You gotta be kidding me… Did you really stick your hand through the screen?"

"Oh man… This is for real… that's some magic trick, man! So how's it work, huh!? What's the magician's secret!?"

Both of them are staring at me but why on earth are they more panicked than me?! My hand is stuck in a screen and while I'm almost calm about this, they look like they will flail around any second now!

You know what, while I'm at it, I might as well freak out these two a bit more. If my hand can survive in the TV, why can't the rest of me? Maybe this will be funny…

I stick my head inside of the screen.

"It's roomy in here."

I mutter to myself as I ponder of Chie and Yosuke's reactions. Oh, I can just picture them panicking right now, running and screaming and- WHAT THE?!

The two of them knock all of us inside the TV.

Oh this can't end well.

_*THUD!*_

Bend with your knees! Bend with your knees!

I fall on my feet.

And I stick the landing! The crowd goes wild- No! Now's not the time for this!

_*THUD!* *THUD!*_

"Ow! I landed on my wallet…" Yosuke mutters, getting back to his feet. Trust me, it's better than landing on your keys.

"Man, where the heck are we?" Chie stumbles, trying to get a sense of her surroundings "What is this place? Some place inside Junes?"

"Hell no it isn't! I mean we fell through a T.V. actually uh… what is going on here?"

He turns to me and gives me a strange look. Don't look at me like that! I'm weird just not this kind of weird!

"So… uh… we're still alive… right?"

Three things came to my mind:

"**Where are we?"**

"**Are you guys okay?"**

"**Is this a dream?"**

But first things first, we have to find out if we're still awake, or at the very least, still alive. There's only one way I know how to wake up immediately, and that's with pain... Oh, I'm not gonna like this… I brace myself as I say to her:

"**Chie, we looked up your skirt!"**

…

…

…

"WHAT?!" Chie screams, her face flushing bright red.

Well, her rage is real.

"YOU STINKING PERVERT!" She rushes over to Yosuke and give him one hell of a roundhouse kick to the face.

_*THWACK!*_

…Did she just ignore me- no, don't dwell on it, if manga and anime taught me anything, dwelling on it will just get me hurt.

"Ughh…" Yosuke groans "Well, at least we know this is real…"

Sorry Yosuke, I thought she would kick both of us… I was wrong- Hey wait a second, why didn't I just pinch myself? Great, now I feel even more like a douchebag.

He then starts looking around.

"Whoa!"

"What now!? Did you wet your pants!?"

Where did that assumption come from?

"No, stupid! Look around!"

I take a better look around this area. What are we standing on?

"Is this… a studio? All this fog… Or is it smoke? There's no place like this in Inaba, is there…?"

Okay, calm down… try to identify what you can see. Okay, I can see studio lighting fixtures above us, and below us there's… a target… with white victim outlines… a lot of white victim outlines… Do not think of the many white victim outlines… probably tell Uncle Dojima of the white victim outlines… Nah, he won't believe me about that. I don't believe where I am either.

"Hell no. But man… this place is huge…" Yosuke's right. This place is way too big.

Chie looks worried. "What are we gonna do….?"

"**Let's look around."**

"**Let's go home."**

"**It's up to you."**

Nope, none of those things will work, I gotta think of something else… gotta find our way back… gotta find… I got it. I take a deep breath and:

**-"ECHO!"**

They both cringe and glare at me, bewildered…

"Dude, the hell was that?" Yosuke cringes while rubbing his ears.

"An echo is produced by sound waves bouncing off large objects." The echo came back somewhere to my left "The echo came back from my left, so there has to be something big over there." I told them, pointing to my left. This may not come off as a surprise, but since I didn't have any friends to occupy my time, I spent several days humoring myself with knowledge of random stuff I found on the internet. Thank you, antisocial circumstances, you made me into an even bigger weirdo than I originally was. Hoo-rah…

I walk to my left, as either Chie or Yosuke, I really wasn't paying attention to who, mutters "Could've given us a warning…"

**Later**

After walking a bit of walking, we're at… a bedroom? How did we get here? I know going into an eerie, glowingly red doorway was a bit of a death flag, but a bedroom?

"No service. What a surprise…" Yosuke checks his phone.

"Can't you guys slow down a little?" Chie complains, catching up behind us "It's hard enough to see where you're going…"

"What are you talking about? I can see… just fine…" Huh? Wasn't it foggy a while ago? Why's it so clear in here?

"Huh? That the…!?"

Chie turns around as we actually pay attention to our surroundings for the first time. The bedroom is covered in red and yellow paint splatters, all over these ripped up posters. And there's that chair and the scarf noose over in the corner. Did we just walk into some serial killer's lair or something? This shit is creepy as all hell.

"It keeps getting creepier and creepier the further we go…"

You got that right, Yosuke.

Yosuke suddenly lurches forward in agony "Aargh! I can't hold it any longer…" he moans. "My bladder's gonna explode!" he runs over to the wall and unzips his pants.

"Yosuke!? What're you doing!?" Chie yells at him.

"I gotta let it out before I piss my pants!" he yells back.

"You're going here!? Oh, you have got to be kidding…" she facepalms.

Now, I could **say nothing**, or I could be a decent person and yell "**We're right here!" **but instead, I point at the potted plant behind us and say:

"**Kill the plant."**

Chie turns to me, bewildered "Dude! Don't encourage-"

"Brilliant idea!" Yosuke charges straight past us (I cover both Chie's eyes and mine, so we're good) and stops right in front of the plant. As he does that, I bring Chie outside so he can do his business in privacy.

As we stood outside, Chie just fumes at me "You just had to encourage him, didn't you?"

"What? If you needed to pee somewhere strange, I'd obviously give you privacy." I say in my own defense.

"…" Chie turns her head away from me. Okay, I may have pissed her off. No pun intended.

"Hey guys…" Yosuke calls us back "look at this…"

**Walk in**

**-"We **_**don't**_** wanna see it."**

"What do you mean by-" he pauses, before realizing what I meant "Oh gross, not that! I meant look here, in the room!"

We walk back in, hoping his pants are up. Yep, his pants are up.

The two of them look around the room one last time, fixing their gaze on the roof and at the noose which, for some reason, looks creepier with the three of us staring at it.

"We should probably get out of here." I comment, inching closer to the door.

"Agreed."

"I'm with you there."

Chie and Yosuke nod in agreement as we all make for the door.

However, before he leaves, Yosuke stops and looks at one of the ripped posters "Hey, I think I saw this before-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we all know what a poster is. Let's just leave this place." I say as I go back and drag him by the collar.

**Later**

"Whew, we finally made it back here." Chie sighs as the three of us made our way back to the creepy target with all the victim outlines. She then pauses, "Wait a second, what's that?"

We see a shadow of- okay, I don't know what _it_ is, but work with me here- approach us.

It comes out of the fog, it looks like some department store mascot reject. I don't know why, but I like it.

"What is this thing? A Monkey? A bear….?" Chie looks at it, confused.

"What in the world…?" Yosuke looks puzzled.

"Th-That's what I wanna know! Who are you guys…?"

It can talk. I like it more already.

Chie gasped "it talked! W-What are you!? Y-You wanna fight!?"

"Don't yell at me like that…"

He looks scared.

Maybe I should be nice to him. I could ask "**What is this place?"** Or **"What are you?"** Or even **"Is this a dream?"**

No wait, I can do better than any of that:

"**Hi there. My name is Yu Narukami. What's yours?"**

The big thing seemed to calm down a bit "I-I'm Teddie." he says timidly "You're from the other side, aren't you?"

"I'm definitely not from here, if that's what you're saying." I told him.

"Y-You weren't thrown in like the others, were you?"

Thrown in? You mean people were forcibly tossed into this place?

Teddie doesn't give us any time to comment "Nonononono! You guys gotta leave, now!" he tapped the ground as this stack of old 50's TVs emerge out of thin air before pushing the three of us into their screens.

**A/N: Yeah, sorry I took so long. I had midterms, and unlike my bro, I had AP courses to take care of… and… yeah, as an apology, and because this chapter was pretty dramatic and not completely funny, I added a preview of what's to come. ****This is not what's going to be in the next chapter****. This is for a future chapter that I have yet to make. If you haven't played the part yet, you think this may be spoilers, you haven't played Golden or if you really don't want to read it, ****you can stop right here. This is the actual end of the chapter!**** If you do however, you will find a line that my brother said to girls before and he kinda got away with. It's a really kind of messed up line that he says to people who knows he's joking, he says it in a non-serious tone and oddly enough everyone he talks to especially girls loves it when he says stuff like this out of the blue. He doesn't get in trouble for it, he doesn't say it to be offensive or in any way to offend people, he says it to amuse people. Trust me you'll know it when you see it. I hope you guys find the line amusing too and not offensive and I hope you guys enjoy this preview. Please review! I always appreciate seeing reviews to my stories and honestly, they inspire me to write faster. P.S. you should know who he's talking to at the end…**

**6/15- After School**

**Okina station**

"This is so weird. I think someone's watching us from somewhere, though." Yosuke commented.

"**I don't get that at all."**

"**That seems… unlikely."**

"**I want to go home."**

**-"Yeah, like two students with scooters sitting in a parking lot for hours on end doesn't catch attention."**

I snarked, wondering how we didn't violate any loitering laws. Maybe I should've told him this isn't how you pick up girls. I'm sure I was thinking this a while ago…

"H-Hold on! I'm sure if we hang around a little longer…"

"We'd be breaking loitering laws, and Kanji looks suspicious enough without our help."

Kanji looks at me quizzically "Huh? How do I look suspicious?" He asks as I avert my eyes. That was kinda mean of me to say.

"Anyways, I'm pretty sure staying here won't get us anywhere, it's already brought us to one place, nowhere."

Yosuke frowns and stamps his feet in irritation "Oh low blow, man!"

Man, am I mean today; it's probably because of all the sun. Or the sitting. Or the sitting in the sun for hours on end.

Kanji shrugged "Senpai's got a point; we've been out here for a while with nuthin' to show for it."

Maybe I should say something. Three things pop in my head.

"**It's Yosuke's fault."**

"**It's Kanji's fault.**

"**Is it my fault?"**

No, that won't kill the boredom from standing… standing… I got it!

"**Do you guys wanna try actively picking up girls instead?"**

They look at me ?This is literally not the weirdest thing I've said recently.

"Dude, I doubt that's gonna work." Yosuke frowned.

Kanji rolled his eyes "I dunno. I'm likin' his plan better than yours right now, Yosuke-senpai."

Still, between standing next to a motorcycle and actually talking to girls… I think actually talking to girls would work better.

We all look a bit disappointed.

Kanji then speaks up. "Senpai, can you give me ten minutes?"

Oh my god, is he in?

"I can't keep quiet after getting' shut out like this. I'll avenge you guys!"

Haha! I knew this guy was awesome!

"This isn't a fight you know! What're you gonna do to "avenge" us? Hit on some girls?" Yosuke looks at him with skepticism.

"Hell yeah! How else would I fix this?"

"C'mon… we have motorbikes and we failed. There's no way you could do better. Right?"

Three things pop into my head-

"**Keep dreaming, Kanji."**

"**I'll be doing the avenging here."**

"**Three minutes is all I need."**

Even though I could probably get a number in three minutes (I got Yukiko and Chie's number just by asking them to their face) but I don't want to say that. Instead, I'll say:

"**This sounds like fun."**

"Now that's my senpai!" it seems I got Kanji excited. "Let's make this a contest. I'll show you clowns how a real man gets it done!"

I say to him, "Who are you calling a clown?" I have the feeling I could have said something like that a while ago.

Yosuke looks a bit fed up. "Calm down! This is turning into something we've all got a stake in. I mean, do you realize what you're saying? This means we're the ones that have to approach girls. That sounds lame… and I doubt it'll go well for us…"

Is it any better than standing here doing nothing?

Kanji looks up. "Ya Chicken?"

"That's not what I meant…"

Kinda sounds like he is.

Kanji looks at him again, "All we gotta do is ask them to be our friend. And then make 'em say "yes." Nothing to it"

Even though I'm ok with doing this, I doubt it's that simple.

Yosuke looks a little reluctant. "Well, I guess there's nothing to lose…"

Kanji looks like he perked up. "That's the spirit, Senpai! And if I lose, I'll run around the block in nothin' but my underwear and those gag glasses Yukiko-senpai had!"

We won't make you do that, nor would we want you to…

Yosuke looks a bit confused. "Only girls count for this, all right?"

"Well duh." I roll my eyes.

Kanji looks a bit pissed. "You're still stuck on that!? Dammit! Hell if I'm gonna lose this!"

He runs off.

Challenge accept- wait a sec, something tells me they never talked to girls before I came around.

Yosuke and I then split up into different directions.

This is gonna be easy. I don't think I should take this too seriously, it's not like I'm going to meet someone who would potentially be the love of my life in here.

I look over to a café nearby. There's a girl over there… why do I have the feeling I've seen her before? She is really pretty though. She has red-brownish hair tied up into pigtails. She's wearing glasses, I don't know why but they look fake. She does look kind of upset about something. I don't know what it is about her, but I almost feel drawn to see her.

She gets up to walk away. Maybe I should talk to her now. Hmm…? As I start to go over to her, I pass by the table she was sitting at, it looks like she dropped her phone. I was gonna go talk to her anyway, might as well bring this with me.

**2 minutes later**

Man, can she walk fast! It's taking me too long to catch up to her. It's like she knows I'm following her. Man, if I do this any longer I'm gonna feel like a stalker.

**Another 2 minutes later**

SLOW DOWN DAMNIT! Even people in the city I'm from don't walk this fast! It's getting harder to catch up to her- man, I really do feel like a stalker.

She's going into an elevator. Okay, at least she's going to stop moving for a second. I walk into the elevator with her and present her phone to her. "Here, you dropped this."

She actually looks pissed. I didn't pick up the wrong person's phone did I?

She glares at me, takes the phone back and says: "Why didn't you say so a whole lot sooner?"

It's clear, she did notice me and she did think I was a stalker. But what's up with the tone? I could just **apologize **or** say nothing. **But knowing me, why would I do any of those? Instead, I sarcastically say: **"Do you act like this to everyone who helps you?"**

She looks a bit confused. I think this is the first time someone ever said something like that to her.

She starts to say: "You did give it back to me instead of keeping it so thank you." she says with a slight blush. Okay so she's not a tsundere like I was expecting. Good to know.

Unfortunately, she started to frown again. I wonder what's wrong.

"You look like you're upset about something." Her head immediately goes up. I guess I was right. "I want to say that you're stressed out because you don't exactly have a lot of friends and when people do give you attention, it's not for the reason you want."

She looks surprised as if she's thinking I can read her like an open book. I know that look on her face, I've had it for a while.

"You're right. How did you know about that?"

I tell her: "Your face kinda screams that."

"I was pretty lonely when I was growing up, I was shy."

"You don't exactly look shy, the first thing you did when you met me was yell at me."

She laughs, at least I put a smile on her face. Then she says, "Well you were acting like a stalker!"

I don't know why I said the thing I said next. I playfully say, "You are so mean! Obviously your ex-boyfriend didn't spank you hard enough."

Oh my god she is going to slap me. No wait, she isn't? She starts to laugh uncontrollably. I definitely thought she was going to slap me.

"I never had a boyfriend!" she says playfully "I bet you act like this to all the girls you see."

"You think I'm flirting with you?" I ask "There's no way that's what's going on, though you look like you would flirt with me a lot though."

**A/N: and for those who read past my previous warning, this is somewhere I'll be at in the coming months. As always, please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Player Choices**

**By psychored1911**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona 4 or Persona 4 Golden**

**4/15- Afternoon**

For a small –whatever he was- he's strong; it's been several hours and I still feel his viced grip. I wonder how much he lifts… Meh, it's not important right now.

For now, I need to focus on the assembly right now.

"I wonder why they're holding a school assembly all of a sudden." Chie whispered in my ear.

**An incident.**

**Probably just some regulations or something…**

**-Spirit Week, maybe?**

Chie shook her head "Nah, that's not till near the end of the school year."

What? Aw, that sucks.

Chie then looks at Yosuke, who was looking nervous for some reason. Probably because of what happened yesterday. "…Hey, what's wrong, Yosuke?"

Yosuke glances at her "Oh, it's nothing."

The principal gets up on stage behind the podium. He doesn't look too happy…

"I… regret to say that I have a terrible announcement for all of you. One of our third-year students, Ms. Saki Konishi of class 3… has passed away."

I zone out. The girl I just met a while ago?

"Ms. Konishi was found deceased early this morning… The reasons behind her passing are currently under investigation by the police. If they ask you for your cooperation, I urge you, as students of this school, to provide only the facts"

I wonder how Yosuke's handling all of this.

The crowd suddenly gets louder.

"All right, please quiet down… I have been assured by the faculty that there's no evidence that bullying was involved in the incident. So mind what you say, not only to the police but to anyone who asks…"

Chie, who was next to me, says: "Found dead…? How could this happen…?""

**Later**

Chie and I walk in the hallway together. We can overhear people talking about this girl. I'm not sure what's fact or fiction. It does bother me that they're talking about a dead person so easily. I guess it's bothering her too.

We see two girls making up some stuff about what they heard.

Chie doesn't look too happy with them. "Sheesh, it's easy to toss around theories if you're not personally involved…"

We turn around. Apparently Yosuke was behind us.

"Hey… did you guys check out the TV last night?" he asked.

Chie began to get pissed. "Yosuke! Not you too!"

Yosuke looks upset. Just listen for a sec! Something kept bothering me, so… I watched it again, and… I think the girl on the screen… was Saki-senpai. There's no mistaking it… Senpai looked like… she was writhing in pain… And then… she disappeared from the screen."

Both Chie and I are surprised about this.

Yosuke continues "You heard Senpai's body was found in a similar situation as that announcer's right…? Well remember that guy you told us about? How he was all excited that his soulmate was the announcer? Maybe… just maybe, but… Ms. Yamano might've been on that Midnight Channel before she died, too."

It's a fairly good theory… but thinking about it like that makes me feel uneasy.

Chie looks uncomfortable "What's that supposed to mean…? Hold on… Are you saying…? People who appear on that TV… die…?"

Yosuke answers her "I can't say for sure. But something tells me… I can't dismiss it as coincidence. Plus, remember what that bear thing said? That people were getting thrown in there. And that room with the posters on the wall… it has to have something to do with the announcer's death. I mean… don't you think there's some kind of connection here? Couldn't that world in the TV have something to do with senpai and the announcer's death!? Well? What do you think?"

He looks right at me. What should I say?

"**You might be right."**

"**That's preposterous."**

**-"The bear may know more."**

"Yeah, you may be onto something." Yosuke agrees with me "There's something the bear's not telling us. I'm thinking about going in again; I want to see what he knows."

Chie looks… genuinely scared for him. I'm surprised by this "Don't do this… You should just let the police handle this and—"

Yosuke snaps "You think we can rely on the police!? They haven't made any progress on the announcer's case. Besides if we told them about the bear and the world inside the TV, there's no way they're gonna believe us! If I'm complexly off-base with this, that's fine… It's just… I need to know why senpai had to die like this. After what I've seen and what I put together, there's no way I can ignore it now…" he turns to me "Sorry… but you're the only person who can help me." He steels his resolve "I'm gonna go get ready. I'll be waiting for you at Junes." He runs off.

Huh… Yosuke... he was really planning on going by himself? Great, now I have to go in after him. Ugh, this is gonna suck…

**After School**

**Junes department store.**

We found him in front of the same TV as yesterday. He kinda looks excited… weird.

"You guys came…!" he says excitedly.

…Why are you smiling?

Chie, on the other hand, looks understandably upset "We came to stop you, idiot! C'mon… you really shouldn't do this. It's too dangerous."

Yosuke looks confident. _Too confident _for my comfort_…_ "I know… But we were able to come back once, right? If we go in from the same location, maybe we'll meet that bear again."

He seems way too eager to explore that place. It's starting to scare me a bit.

Chie, still justifiably mad, says "'Maybe' isn't good enough!"

"Look, I can't just act like everyone else and pretend this has nothing to do with me. What about you? Could you just walk away?" he turns to me.

I could say "**I can't leave it alone", "This doesn't involve me," **or** "I'm worried about Chie."**

Nah, none of those sound like me. I'd rather say:

"**I wasn't gonna let you go in there by yourself."**

If he goes in by himself, we have no idea what's gonna happen in there.

"Wow, you're a really dependable guy, Naukami." Yosuke grins "Glad I got you backing me up."

His enthusiasm disturbs me…

He turns to Chie "Don't worry, I'm not going in without a plan. Chie, I'm leaving you in charge of this."

He hands her… rope? "Huh, what's that? A rope…?"

He begins to explain his plan "We'll go in with this tied to me, so I want you to hold on to this and wait here."

Chie looks nervous. "What? Then, this is a lifeline? C'mon, wait a sec…"

He then turns to me. "Here, Yu… This is for you."

He hands me a golf club from… where the hell was he hiding that?

"I took it from the sports section."

Okay, he stole it… better than him hiding it in pants or something. Okay, not that much better, but much less gross…

He also hands me medicine. what the hell am i gonna do with this? These are generic painkillers, not even one of the good ones.

"I thought it might be better than going in empty-handed. Alright… Let's go. There's no use wasting any more time. Chie, whatever you do, don't let go of the rope!"

Yosuke and I went inside the TV.

**TV World**

_*THUD*_

And he sticks the landing a second time! The crowd goes wild!- No still not the time for that!

I turn to my right and I find Yosuke. He looks like he hurt his butt again but seems fine otherwise. The rope… oh crap. It's cut.

"Look this is the same place as last time! So they are connected from place to place!" he says excitedly.

Should I ruin his excitement with our rope situation? Nah, I'll let him have his moment.

"You guys… why'd you come back?"

We turn around to find Teddie and all his… angry bear face? Yeah, he looks pissed "I get it, you're the ones behind this!" he accuses.

Wait… What? Where did he get that from?

He continues "Lately, I can tell someone's been throwing people in here. It's making this world more and more messed up. This is the second time you guys came here. And I don't think anyone forced you in. That means you're the most suspicious. You guys must be the ones throwing people in here, Rawr!"

He growled, seriously? Well I'm currently resisting the urge to smack him upside the head with the stolen golf club. So I'm pissed. How should I respond to that?

"**Hell no!"**

"**Don't label us like."**

"**Shut up."**

**-Accuse him**

In the most improvised way possible I accuse him of the most ridiculous thing I could possibly think of: "What if you were the one who started pulling people in here so you can steal their honey!"

They both look at me in confusion. Especially Yosuke "Dude, what are you talking about?" he asks.

Now I'm confused. How does he not know one of the awesomest bears in history?

Ok, I admit it's weird but…

An awkward silence fills the area. It's mainly my fault.

We should get back on topic… Yosuke is way ahead of me on this one "What do you mean throwing people in? If someone was thrown in here and they couldn't get out…"

…They'll be trapped in here until they either A) find a way out, or B) Die.

Yosuke continues, "Could it be that someone's throwing people here, intending to kill them?"

Sounds like the perfect crime if you ask me.

"What're you guys mumbling about? Why'd you come here, anyways!? It's a one way door! You can't get out once you're in! Remember? How I had to let you guys out?" he barks, or whatever the bear equivalent of "bark" is.

Well that explains yesterday… and now…

"Yeah, whatever. We don't need your help this time! See, this time we have a lifeli-"

Yosuke stops midsentence. Oh, _now_ he notices the broken rope. A bit late, but better late than never I guess.

"H-Hey! You better let us out once we're done investigating here!" Yosuke says angrily.

Dude, just… don't… you already lost… so just… don't…

Teddie growls in a not-really-that-intimidating fashion "Grrrrr! I'm the one who wants to investigate! I've lived here for a long time. But it's never been noisy like this till now. Do you have proof!? Prove to me you're not throwing people in here!"

How would we have proof!? We only know that we weren't doing anything bad.

"**Proof?"**

"**It doesn't work that way…"**

"**Shut up."**

**-"Why the hell would we want to throw **_**ourselves**_** in here if we could never get out?"**

This halts Teddie to a standstill, the gears in his head turning around.

"Look, if it was as bad as you said it was, then any rational human being would never return here without a proper reason. And yet, here we are." I explain to him matter-of-factly. "Look, all we know is that a corpse appears once the fog comes and passes. We're here for the truth, not to play superhero."

Yosuke frowns at that last comment. Why are you frowning? I'm helping our case here!

Teddie looks at me worriedly "A dead body? Whenever the fog appears…?" he shifts his attention to Yosuke "I know that if it's foggy on your side, the fog lifts here."

So what, it's cyclical? That's interesting to note, but-

"It's really dangerous when the fog lifts. That's when the Shadows get violent."

Wait, what?

"If it's foggy on our side, it isn't in here…? Shadows get violent…?"

Repeating it doesn't help it make sense.

"That's why I said to hurry back! It's dangerous when that happens! Okay, no more questions. I know you guys did it! You better stop right now!"

And we're back to this again.

Yosuke got pissed. "I've told you, we're not the ones doing it! I've had it with you… Why the hell won't you listen to what we're saying!?"

"I-I'm just saying… you might be the culprits. I'm just making sure…"

Yosuke looks exhausted. "What…? Man, this bear's driving me nuts… What is this place, anyways? It looks like a TV studio… Is something being filmed here…?"

It does look like a TV studio. Maybe a bad gameshow or something. It kind of reminds me of the midnight channel…

Yosuke looks up. "H-Hey, don't tell me… is that weird show being filmed here!?"

Teddie looks confused, "Weird show? Filmed? What does that mean?"

It seems that he doesn't know anything.

I start to ignore the two of them and take a better look around. There are spotlights around, they're lit up but they don't make it easier to see though. They also don't look like they're plugged in… They're not plugged in… there are no plugs… anywhere… How on earth are they on? There are ladders and stairs… I don't know where they lead. There don't seem to be any cameras here either. What kind of a film studio is this?

Don't get me wrong, I'm still paying attention to their conversation, I don't get their conversation though. If the fog isn't here, it's in our world? That doesn't make any sense and what's he talking about shadows?

"You keep telling us to prove our innocence, but you're the most suspicious thing here!" Yosuke snaps at him.

Things look like they're getting interesting again. I should listen to them again.

"Maybe you're the real culprit!" he points at Teddie accusingly "And what's with that stupid costume!? I'd say it's time you showed your face!"

He then tackles Teddie and tries to wrestle the bear head off of him, like he clearly does not see the zipper along the neck of the costume.

_*PLOP!*_

Yosuke finally rips off the head, only to find… nothing inside…

…

…

…

Screw Old Pinocchio's playing cards! THIS is the coolest magic trick I've ever seen!

"Wh-What the hell are you…? It's empty inside…" Yosuke backs away slowly as Teddie's body starts flailing for his head.

I take the head from Yosuke's hands and place it back on Teddie's body, securing it with the zipper.

He starts to talk. "Me? The culprit? I wouldn't do such a thing… I just live here… I just want to live here peacefully." He says with a smile "Okay. I'll believe that you guys aren't the culprits."

We weren't guilty in the first place, so yeah.

"But I want you to find the real guy who did all this. You have to stop him." Teddie requests "Promise me, or else…" he grins evilly "I'm not gonna let you guys outta here."

Yosuke flinches, before yelling "Y-You little…!"

"This can't keep going on! My home here will be a complete mess! And then… and then… I… Waaah…" he starts crying out of the blue for some reason.

"Wh-What're you crying for all of a sudden...?" Yosuke retorts.

Jeez, harsh much?.

"Geez, this thing's weirding me out…" he mutters under his breath

You and me both.

He seems to be asking for help, he wants to find the culprit as much as I do. Someone is throwing people in here…

If that Pinocchio guy was real, then man do I have some trouble now. I'm gonna have to do a lot of work, aren't I?

"You're the only ones I can ask. Will you promise me?"

"**I promise."**

"**We've got no choice…"**

No wait, I got a better idea.

**-"We'll help you, don't cry on me."**

His tears stop. He looks pretty grateful. "Thank you!"

"Damn bear… Practically holding a gun to our heads…"

You're just angry that your rope idea didn't work.

He continues. "But, it's true that we came here to figure things out. So far, we're completely in the dark. Look for the culprit, huh…? Bring it on! You got my word, too. Might as well introduce ourselves. I'm Yosuke Hanamura and this is Yu Narukami."

That's the spirit, Yosuke.

"But how are we supposed to find the culprit in the first place?"

That does seem like a problem.

"I dunno. But know where the last person came in."

Yosuke looks up. Obviously, it took his interest.

"The Last person? You mean Saki-senpai!?"

How would he know her name?

"I mean the last person who came in and disappeared last time. I dunno the name. I'll take you there. You might find clues. Oh, one thing first. You should put these on."

He hands us glasses.

Well I don't see what the big deal is, they're just- WOW! Everything's so clear! The fog is invisible!

"They'll help you walk through the fog. Well, I've been here a long time. So you can rely on me!"

You should have given these to us sooner.

"But I can only show you where the place is. You guys will have to defend yourselves.

I guess my golf club will be of good use. But what are we defending ourselves from. Yosuke is understandably panicking because of teddie's remark.

"I've got no muscles. Oh! Oh! I'll give you guys moral support from a safe distance. How's that sound?"

That doesn't sound that reliable. Can he really not fight?

**Try touching teddie**

**Try pushin teddie**

**Try hitting teddie**

**-Offer Teddie fist bump**

Teddie tries to accept the fist bump. My question is, how did he get pushed back? He's flailing around on the ground, unable to get back up.

"We swore to find the culprit and this is the backup we get?"

He's right, we're in trouble.

**Later**

We walk into… the shopping district?

How on earth did we end up here?

"Some weird places have appeared recently. Things are getting so tangled, I dunno what to do…"

We turn around to see teddie… Far from us… I have a feeling that he knows something and isn't telling us.

"Uh… by the way, why are you standing so far from us? You better not be planning to high tail it if something does come up." Yosuke is understandably scared.

"Of course not! I mean. Uh. I can't stand too close, you know. I'd get in your way…"

Does not standing too close mean 20 feet away?

Yosuke ignores the obvious subtext. "Man, they really went all out on this. But out of all the place in town, why'd they replicate this one."

I don't think this was here yesterday. But I do know that a town can't be recreated this easily. There's always the minute details that are easily missed.

"How should I know? This is reality for the one who's here." Teddie replies.

"As usual, nothing you say makes any sense… But if this is our shopping district, we're not far from Saki- senpai's…" He rushes towards a store, running much faster than I thought he would. Why the hell is he much faster on his two feet than on a bike?

He stops right in front of a liquor store. "I knew it!" he exclaims "This is the liquor store that Senpai's parent's run. Does this mean, she disappeared here? What could've happened?"

I dunno dude, we have to go in there to find out. This door is making me reluctant to go in though. It sort of looks more of a portal than a door.

Teddie jumps up, looking more panicked than normal… than normal "Wait a second. They're here!"

Wait, what do you mean by _they_!?

"Shadows. I had a feeling they were going to attack!"

… Did he say attack?

Two blue, oval shaped masks, each with damp, slimy bodies, emerge from the doorway, staring at us with their blank, nondescript faces. Well I don't think things can get worse.

_*gurgle… gurgle…*_

The two blobs slowly morph into a ball-shaped form, each streaking with pinkish stripes and these giant, disgusting, almost cartoony mouths with oversized tongues. Ugh, just looking at these things make my skin crawl. Great, worse…

_**I am thou**_

Oh come on! Why now of all times!? I'm kinda staring down my horrible, mouth based end right now! Oh god, this is so not how I pictured meeting my maker! I was picturing old age with my wife who is still as hot as when i first met her right by my side not with a headache and being swallowed by the slime monster

_**Thou art I**_

_**The time has come**_

_**Open thine eyes and call forth what is within**_

Wait a second… what's this rush I'm feeling? Yeah, it actually feels pretty good. I've never felt this greatin my life!

"Per… so… na…"

I crush the card in my hand.

Blue mist surrounds me, calling forth a figure from the deepest depths of my soul.

A tall figure in a giant, black trenchcoat, with a pure white mask, only revealing its glowing yellow eyes. In its hands was a naginata type weapon, wrapped in bandages for a makeshift grip. It had wickedly sharp blades on its feet and… an athletic cup. Why does it have an athletic cup? Why am I _staring _at the athletic cup? What'd he do, piss off his wife or something?

Okay, that's another thing… First things first, I need to get these disembodied mouths out of my face.

"Stay calm and listen. Some shadows have weaknesses. If you can pinpoint that weakness and take advantage of it, the battle will be a lot easier! I can tell this one has a weakness too! Try stuff out and see what works!"

Thanks for the info Teddie. I think I can take these things down.

Now, how do I get that guy to come out?

The card from earlier appears in front of me. I think I'm starting to get how it works. I crush the card like earlier and he appears. What's he doing?

_*ZAP!*_

He can control lightning, good to know.

The ball thing is on the ground because of lightning, good to know.

Let's try that again on the other one.

_*ZAP!*_

Now they're both on the ground.

Ball shaped thing on the ground.

…

Golf club.

...

Ball shaped thing on the ground.

…

Golf club.

_**I know what I must do.**_

Years of Wii golf, you're about to come in handy!

I ready up the golf club to the side of the ball thing. If this doesn't hurt them, I don't know what will.

"FORE!"

I'm not good with sports, I got no clue if that's even right.

I swing with all of my might, turning it into a puff of smoke.

The other gumball-with-a-tongue floats back into the air, clearly injured.

**Beat them like they owe me money**

**-Push it back on the ground and play golf again**

"FORE!"

_*SMACK!* *POOF!*_

I really gotta check later if that's correct.

This one drops into a puff of smoke as well. Hey, it dropped money! Nothing more than pocket change, though. Eh, better than nothing.

The… figure I summoned comes forth, turning to me, staring at me with its glowing, unflinching eyes, before vanishing into blue mist.

"Whoa, what was that?" Yosuke said as he… reappeared... the hell did you go!? At least Teddie stuck by my side!

"Did I hear you say 'persona'? What was it? I mean, what did you do!?"

How would I know?

"Hey, you think I can do it too?"

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Quit playing 20 questions with someone who doesn't know!

Teddie walks up to us. "Calm down, Yosuke. You're troubling sensei!"

Sensei, he's calling me Sensei... I like the sound of that!

"Gosh almighty! You're amazing, sensei! I am one impressed bear! I can't believe you were hiding such an amazing power! No wonder the shadows were scared of you! *gasp* are you the one who's able to bring people into this world?" He stares at me with beary-wide eyes.

I nod.

"Hah! That's what I thought! This is really something. Don't you think so, Yosuke?"

"Dude, you call him sensei and then don't show me any respect?" Yosuke pouts.

_You tried to rip his head off. And __succeeded__._

"Sorry…"

"Well, your support wasn't bad, though. I gotta give you some credit for that."

"Huh? Really? Heehee."

Yosuke smiles, seeming a little bit better than earlier. "All right, you two keep it up, and I think we'll be fine from here on out. Now let's get back to the investigation!"

We suddenly start to hear voices from… somewhere… I dunno, it's really freaking me out…

"_**I wish Junes would go under…"**_

"_**It's all because of that store…"**_

"_**Oh, I heard that Konishi san's daughter is working there."**_

"_**Oh my… How could she, with her family's business suffering like it is?"**_

Wow, they sound like bitchy housewives with way too much time on their hands.

"_**I heard their sales have gone downhill because of Junes."**_

Yosuke looks like he's pretty troubled. "Stop it…."

"_**That poor father, to have his own daughter working for the enemy."**_

Yosuke now seems angry "Hey, hey Ted!" he barks "You said that that this place is reality for those that are here, right? So does that mean this is senpai's reality when she wandered in here?"

Teddie looks confused "I only know about what's over here." he tells him

Yosuke did not like her style "Fine. Whatever's going on here… we'll find out for ourselves!"

We all rush into the store. Why is it bigger on the inside? With no roof?

As we enter, we hear a middle aged, masculine voice filled with anger and disappointment _**"Saki, how many times do I have to tell you?" You know what the neighbors say about you, right!? Aren't you ashamed of yourself? You're the eldest daughter of a family who's owned this store for generations! Is it the money? Or did you meet some guy there? Just tell me why you have to work THERE, of all places!"**_

The color seemed to fade from Yosuke's face "I can't believe this… She seemed like she had fun at work… She never said anything like this to me… You're telling me THIS was how senpai really saw things!?"

He rushes over to a cashier counter and stares at a pile of ripped up pictures and… ticket stubs?

"_**I… never had a chance to say it…"**_ Saki's voice eerily echoed throughout the room _**"I always wanted to tell Hana-chan… that he was a real pain in the ass."**_

…

…

...

DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYUM, that was harsh. As for Yosuke… yeah, he… he looked like his heart was crushed… poor guy...

"_**I was nice to him because he was the manager's son, that's all. But he takes it the wrong way and gets all enthusiastic**_…"

*Wow… this bitch is brutal...

Yosuke is on the brink of tears. "It's a lie… This can't be… Senpai's not like that…!"

"It's *sniff* so sad… I feel so sorry for myself… Boo hoo…"

...Really? After all that, what's with that sarcastic tone? And why does it sound like you're behind... me...

…

You're standing right next to me…

Then… who the hell's standing behind me?

What the heck?! Since when does he have a Twin?

"Actually, I'm the one who thinks everything's a pain in the ass. Hahaha…" his lookalike says.

"Huh, two Yosukes?" Teddie came in and he's as confused as the rest of us.

"Who are you!? I wouldn't think that!"

"Hahaha… Yeah, right. How long are you going to keep deluding yourself? Screw the shopping district, and Junes too! You're sick of everything, especially living in the sticks!

This lookalike is freaking me out.

Yosuke is sweating through his shirt. "What're you saying? That's not true, I-"

"You put on a good show of being carefree and happy-go-lucky 'cause you're so terrified of being a*lone. The more the merrier, right? You've gotta be surrounded by people to block out the pain of isolation. And what's this about checking out this world for Saki senpai's sake? Hah! I know the real reason you came snooping!"

"Stop it!"

"Hahaha! Why so panicked? I thought i was just spouting bullshit! Or maybe… I DO know everything you're thinking! Why's that? Because I AM you! You just came because you thought it sounded like a good time! What else is there to do in this shithole? A world inside the TV- now that's exciting! You didn't have a single other reason for coming here, did you?"

"That's not true… Stop… Stop it…"

Yosuke weakly muttered, on the verge of tears.

"You're just acting like a big shot… If all went well, hey, maybe you could be the hero! And that senpai you were so sweet on? Her death was the perfect the excuse!"

The lookalike is being more brutal than the voices.

"That's not true! What are you!? Who are you!?"

"I already told ya. I'm you... your shadow… There's nothing I don't know about you!" The fake Yosuke taunts, clearly sending real Yosuke over the edge.

"Screw that! I don't know you! You can't be me you son of a bitch!" Yosuke screams in rage and denial.

The copycat laughs maniacally. "**THAT'S RIGHT, SAY IT AGAIN!**"

"You're not me! You're nothing like me!"

Fake Yosuke grins evilly "Yeah, that's right. **I AM ME NOW! I'M NOT YOU ANYMORE SEE**!"

A dark miasma surrounds the fake Yosuke before erupting into a blinding light.

As the light faded, what appeared in Fake Yosuke's place… is a fugly freak of nature with whiny Yosuke's voice. And how could this get worse… Oh great, he fainted! Of course he fainted. He just had to leave his problems for me to solve. Great. Just nice.

Fine, me and the swag-filled piece of circus taxidermy will take on the giant frog with the ninja sticking out of its nose all by ourselves- Okay, strike that;_ I'll _fight the giant frog with the ninja sticking out of its nose myself since Teddie clearly can't protect himself, but if the twisted piece of Japanese Pop-Art starts spouting daddy issues, I'm leaving!

"I am a shadow… The true self… I'll crush everything that bores me… Starting with you!"

Who are you calling Boring?! "Come at me, you Centaur reject! We all know a horse was too good for your lower half and you had to settle a frog!" I taunt back, brandishing my golf club of doom like the mighty sword it probably is not.

It spews green- augh, geez what the hell is this?!

"How long can you survive this?" Centaur Reject sneers as I stagger around, holding my breath.

"This one's much stronger than the last type! Be careful! Whenever you feel threatened, just defend yourself!"

Good to know, Teddie.

Okay, fine you big weirdo, say hello to my little friend who is technically bigger than me.

"Izanagi!"

He appears before me. Now, what can I make him do again?

"You pain in the ass!" Centaur Reject tries to smack me with its 40's cartoon gloves, only for Izanagi's bancho naginata to pierce right through it before giving him a mighty slash across the face.

He then disappeared.

…

Wait, that's it?!

My bancho powerhouse comes in and out after one move?!

...

Good to know. I'll keep that in mind from now on… it's not like I overreact to everything that's going on?

the giant frog part of him raises its hand looks like it's about to attack. what should i do?

**Stand still and take the hit**

**Guard and take the hit**

...Those both sound stupid; like hell if I'm just gonna stand there

**-MOVE!**

It glares angrily as I evade its attack "You're so annoying!" it screams.

Better let the big guy come out.

"Izanagi."

Card comes out, crush the card, he appears. Now for the hard part, how to get the lightning out.

umm thinking of something. t's on the tip of my tongue…

"Zio?""

Okay, now there's lightning.

And now he's on the floor.

What to do next…

**Hit him while he's down**

**-Hit him while he's down and don't let him get back up**

Take that!

_*SMACK!*_

And that!

_*THWACK!*_

You know what i'm gonna do next!?

**Don't climb up on**

**-Climb up**

I climb up to his top human half, bracing myself as he thrashes around wildly, trying to throw me into the air.

"I'm gonna go _Shadow of the Colossus _on your ass!"

I scream as I shove the golf club into its mouth (the ninja's, not the giant frog's; that'd be weird) and leap off it, screaming "ZIO!"

_*BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!*_

The lightning, attracted to the golf club like a lightning rod, nails the Centaur Wannabe right in the face. Direct attack!

"Damn you to hell!" It cries as it collapses to the ground, burnt completely to a crisp.

_*BOOM!*_

And then it exploded.

...

Hey, wait a minute…

It exploded… and I didn't have my back turned to it to look cool for no reason.

Aw man! I missed my chance- Oh, hey look it dropped money- nope, it's just pocket change...

"I… I…" Oh, _now_ he wakes up. Right after I did everything.

"Yosuke, are you okay?!" Teddie asks, concerned.

"Yeah." he groans as he gets back to his feet "What happened?"

We turn around.

Shadow Yosuke is still there standing there.

Staring at us.

_Creepily._

"You… You're not me…"

Really?

Teddie speaks up. "That thing came from you Yosuke. You have to admit it or else it'll go berserk again."

That thing came from you... And it started to me… I don't know what it is but i'm somewhat offended.

Yosuke looks reluctant.

Three things come to mind:

"**You're still yourself."**

"**You have to be brave."**

"**Everyone's the same inside."**

From what i heard that thing spewing out, he's insecure about loneliness and boredom he also made a big deal about Saki...

I think I know what to say.

"**It's you, but it isn't all of you."**

He looks up at me,understandably confused.

"Look, you obviously thought that stuff at one point, but you did want to see Saki again." I tell him,

Yosuke looks down at his shadow, and then at me "You're right… I wanted to go in for some thrill but I did like Saki senpai… Man this hurts to admit." He takes a deep breath as he walks over to his shadow. "You're me… and I'm you… when you get down to it, all of this is me.

It disappears and turns into this really weird smaller version of shadow Yosuke.

"This is my Persona" It disappears.

Sweet, he has one too. It's... It sorta looks like the ninja that attacked me before… Okay, I have no qualms about it now, but if it goes after me, then it is _so_ on.

Real Yosuke then turns around before collapsing to his knees-

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

YOU ALREADY PASSED OUT ONCE!

I WILL NOT CARRY YOUR ASS OUT OF HERE AFTER I SAVED YOUR LIFE!

"When I heard senpai's voice…" Oh wait, never mind, he's just contemplating, not fainting again "I wonder if that was something senpai had been keeping down inside… Haha… 'he was a real pain in the ass,' huh? What a way to find out…" he admits as he gives me a lukewarm smile "Geez this so embarrassing… If you weren't here, I don't know what would have happened, thanks Yu. Hey Teddie, could senpai be attacked by her other self here? Like how it just happened to me?"

It attacked me!

Okay maybe it was initially after you but still!

"I think so. The shadows were originally born from humans. Sometimes the fog clears. Then they all go berserk… And you saw what happens next. A strong willed shadow draws others to it. and a big mass of shadows kill the host."

"So that's why people die when it's foggy." Yosuke says.

"Yosuke's pretty worn out. This world isn't made for humans. It's not comfortable here. I don't here any more voices. I think we're done here."

You heard what Teddie said, Yosuke. c'mon let's go.

_**A/N: **_**Sorry I took so long. I got so preoccupied with high school and plain old graduating with my brother that i didn't have time to update. I feel so bad about not updating for so long that i'm putting in a preview on ****his ****favorite scene in the game. ****this is not in the next chapter and spoiler alert and disclaimer on the very obvious quote that was put there. ****Here's a story of my brother, because i always have a story about him. He has a weird talent of picking up skills very quickly. When we first went fishing with our dad, we were on a boat and he picked up fishing very easily. not only did he catch the most fish than anyone else on the boat but his hook somehow got connected to a **_**whale. Yeah, I said whale!**_** Not even the captain understood how he did it. what made it even more ridiculous was that **_**he didn't even realize it was a whale and kept reeling it in.**_** What was worse was that he was wearing headphones, so he couldn't hear me (and everyone else on the boat, but I'm putting more emphasis on myself because I was standing right next to him) screaming at him to cut the line. Eventually, someone else on board had enough sense to cut the line while my dad gave him a 30-minute lecture on the obvious differences between fish and whales. True story. Now, before I end it… here's that preview I'm talking about.**

_**9/10- Afternoon**_

_**Hagakure Ramen**_

Everyone seems to be enjoying their Ramen, i wish i can say the same… my head hurts too much…

"This place serves the best ramen in town. When we were filming, a lot of times i came here instead of eating boxed lunches." Rise turns to Yukiko. "Huh? You're not hungry?"

Yukiko looks about as hung over as I was, rubbing her throbbing forehead "Um...what happened last night? I don't remember much about it…"

You and me both. I look up to Kanji in front of me. "What _did_ happen last night?"

He flushes bright red in embarrassment, before turning red in anger "How the hell do you not remember what happened?! Don't cha remember what you blurted out loud about Naoto?! he barked angrily.

As he explains, it all starts rushing back to me… _Oh dear god_, I was so out of it even my thoughts were messed up...

**9/09- Evening**

**Escapade**

"Ahahaha, me next! Me! I'm the king! Actually, the queen!"

AlL hAil tHe qUEEn! HeheHEeheHehEhehe…

"You didn't even Draw a chopstick!"

HEr roYAl hIGHnESs doESn'T NEeD tO DrAW! tHe QUeeN CAn hAVe AnY loVER ShE- WaIT ThaT doESN't soUnD RiGHt...

"Alright, then… Let's have someone talk about something really embarrassing that they'd never wanna tell … Ah! Naoto kun! I choose you!"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOoooOOOOOOOOHHHHHHhhHHH!

"She's breaking all the rules, just ignore her Naoto." YOSukE YoU KilLJoY!

"No… No, that won't be necessary. One stipulation, though: If I do this, the rest of you must reveal "something" as well.

"Okaaay!" RiSE YoU LOOk sO CuTe!

"No particular embarrassing experiences come to mind…" ReeEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeAAAaaLLLYYyyyyyyyy?

"Would discussing my life be fair game?" NaOTO asKS "It's the rare situation like this that gives me call to speak of such things. The Shirogane family has been detectives for generations now. We lend our powers to the police from time to time. In days gone by, when there were no crime scene investigators, consulting detectives were considered more valuable. Thus, my grandfather still has a strong connection with the police and looks after me, despite my youth and inexperience. But investigators nowadays are well versed in science and medicine, so I must further my studies."

"That sounds tough…" YoSuKe saId, beFOrE hE BLinkED "that's it? No punch line?" YoSuKe'S RiGHt, BoOOoOoooOrINg!

"I fear you may be looking to the wrong person for that." NaOTO RePLIed.

"WoRrY NoT, mY FriEnds! GuESs wHo hERe HaS AN eMBarRAsSInG StoRY AbOUt NaOTO!" I sAy iN DElighT.

"..." NaOtO GlaREs At mE MoRBiDlY.

"Please tell me you're not that drunk!" JuSt StAy CuTe ChiE, You'LL LovE 'diS.

"_**A LONG TIME AGO IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY….**_

**EPISODE IV**

**A NEW HOPE**

**IT IS A PERIOD OF CIVIL WAR. **

**REBEL STARSHIPS, STRIKING**

**FROM A HIDDEN BASE, HAVE WON**

**THEIR FIRST VICTORY AGAINST**

**THE EVIL GALACTIC EMPIRE...**

-OOpS, WRoNg EpiC sTOrY! SOOORRY! HeRE's WhaT ReALLy hAppEnEd…"

**Two months ago**

**Croco fur**

I'm lookin', lookin' for clothes, lookin' for clothes for people to wear, I'm lookin', lookin for clothes, lookin' for clothes to wear…

Haha. I should be a songwriter or something when I grow up. Okay, now back to business, I needed to get myself some new clothes, wearing my uniform all the time gets old after a while...

I go over to the dressing room and walk over to the attendant… the very cute attendant… Hold up brain, clothes first, cute girls later.

"Excuse me, can you help me out of this uniform?" i ask her.

…

Wait a minute…

oops...

She smiles with a blush… crap… this got more complicated. Flirting is not on my agenda right now; maybe later, but not now.

But before she says anything, Naoto emerges from the dressing room… Holding in a large bra in her hands?

"Excuse me, can you help me find a different bra, the cup size for this one isn't big enough-"

She freezes in place as the two of us make eye contact, the color rapidly draining from her face.

…

...

…

We maintained eye contact for 30 seconds… 30 seconds too long for both our sakes…

…

...

…

Oh, I see!

I give Naoto a huge thumbs up "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me!"

**9/09-Evening**

**Escapade**

"TrUe StOrY." i lOUdly PrOCLaim.

EvERYoNe lOOKs aT mE WIth disBElIeF, shOCk, aMUSEmeNT oR HoRroR. ExCEpt RiSE, wHO yElleD "I claim copyright for that song!"

I CuP RiSe's cHeEkS WitH mY HaNdS. "I WoULd NeVer dO AnyTHinG to HUrt you, FoRGivE mE, My LoVe!" i sAY SEDucTIvelY BefORE i SloWLy PrESSed mY LipS AgAiNsT HeRS.

wOw, hEr LIps ArE sOooOo SOFt… TAstes LiKE StrAWbErrieS...

oOOOOoOoOooooOhHHHHhhhHhHHhHHh! HeR FaCe WeNt SoOoOo ReD! ;)

AnD EvERyOne ELsE LOokS sOooOOoOOOOo ShOCKed ToO. :)

i IGnorE TheM aS i ThEN tUrN tO NaOTO, wHO LooKED LiKE ShE EIthER wanTED tO rUN aWAy fROm uS or ShoOT mE.

"DoN't WoRRy NaOTO, We StIlL LiKe YoU…" i LEaN iN reAl ClOSe to hEr… SHe's NOt foOlIng anYONe… "yOu AlsO waNNA KiSS-"

_*CRASH!*_

**9/10-Afternoon**

**Hagakure Ramen**

"To be fair," Kanji shrugged in resignation "You totally had the flower vase to the head comin'…"

I stare at him in shock "Did I really say all that?"

Kanji nods.

"Did i really call Rise, 'my love'?"

Kanji nods again.

"And then I…kissed her…?"

"Mhm…"

I briefly glance towards Rise, I'm not sure if she remembers; she looks just as hung over as me and Yukiko.

"And then I… turned my attention to... Naoto?" Then again, I couldn't blame drunk me; Naoto is pretty hot…

"Yeah, an' then he slammed a flower vase to yer face." Kanji frowns "Dude, you don't come onto another dude like that! 'Sides, he told us he was usin' dat bra for a disguise for another case he's workin' at."

Disguise for another case? That's the best excuse she could come up with? Really? Well, half of us were drunk and the other half were too busy handling the drunk half, so I'll give her a pass here. Still can't believe they think she's a girl though…

I'll just leave them be...

Argh, get back on topic, mind! "Did I do anything else?" I plead, hoping I didn't do anything else.

"Well," Kanji scratches his head uneasily "Before all that bullshit…"

_Oh dear god..._

**A/N: Now that all's said and done, please review! I love it when you guys review. If you want to vote or discuss who the love interest should be, I set up a poll in my profile page if you want. I haven't made up my mind yet mostly because my brother can't decide which heroine he likes the most. So far it's an Even Tie to… all of them. so please review i love it when you guys review. (P.S. I do not own that quote from that **_**famous movie.)**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Player Choices**

**By psychored1911**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 4 or Persona 4 Golden.**

**Chapter 6**

* * *

**4/15- After School**

After a brief talk with Teddie, we found out some Interesting information: when the fog lifts in the TV, the Shadows get violent and if you can't get out of the TV world when the fog lifts, you can die either by your own shadow or by others. There is a chance that place in the shopping district was made from Saki's mind. At least in theory… We do have a chance to save them, all we have to do is go in and pull them out.

As I enter the TV portal, I can't help but think:

_Am I forgetting something?_

* * *

**Junes**

Chie looks like she was trembling on the floor, on the verge of tears.

Oops…

"You guys came back!" she exclaims, trembling in joy- wait a second… now it looks like anger

"The nerve of you guys!" she screams at us, grabbing me by the collar "You are such jerks!"

Maybe i should try to calm her down.

**Flirt with her**

**-Hug and pet her like a child**

I slowly wrap my arms around her, carefully trying not to startle her any further, before gently putting my hand on her head, stroking it with utmost care.

"I'm sorry for making you worry like that. I promise it won't happen again…"

I keep stroking the back of her head, waiting patiently as I feel her beating heart calm down to normal levels, her hitching breath placating to a normal rhythm. Anyone can make a woman angry, but it takes true character to calm their rage. Wow, she feels so warm...

"Ahem…"

Right… I forgot Yosuke was there.

I awkwardly continue hugging Chie, still stroking her head, under Yosuke's judging gaze, for several graceless minutes until I reluctantly let go of her, before making awkward eye contact with Yosuke.

What, jealous much?

Okay, after I let Chie simmer down for a while, we started to explain to her everything that happened to us: Teddie being an awesome hollow bear, the fake Yosuke, the fake Yosuke turning into the ninja-frog centaur, everything.

"Uh-huh." it seems that Chie doesn't fully believe me.

"He's telling the truth y'know." Thanks for backing me up, Yosuke.

"Okay…" Chie says hesitantly, clearly having some difficulty wrapping her mind around it.

Yeah, i know, I know "Look, it's been a long day." I tell the two of them "You know, let's all head back home for the day. It'll be easier for us to explain it tomorrow."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

"Agreed."

the two of them nod as we started heading our separate ways for the day- Ah, crap. It's raining. Okay, buying myself an umbrella and _then_ heading home for the day.

* * *

**Floodplain**

Man this rain won't let up. I knew i should have taken the normal route home. Take the normal route back home, first part of my mind says, but _nooooooo, _I just had to try to find a shortcut in a town I am completely unfamiliar with-

_Helloooooo_, pretty girl in a kimono. Must walk over… Oh, hey it's that girl from the other day. Nah, I probably shouldn't; she looks like she gets hit on enough times for me to get involved. Deadfish-eyes tried to creepily hit on her and she didn't really notice, though I'm exponentially better looking than that weirdo... Screw it, might as well say hi.

"Hey, how's it going." I say as she turns to me, surprised.

"Oh, it's you…"

She seems to be at a loss of words.

What should I say:

"**What are you doing here?" **Nah, too easy for me.

"**Why are you wearing a kimono?" ** Well, I heard her family runs a traditional inn, so it's believable.

""**You up for a date?"** ...Probably shouldn't… she probably gets enough of those every day, even without my input. No need to harass her any further- Hey, wait a second:

**-"Where's your umbrella?" **

It's raining cats and dogs out here, and raincoats do not go well with those clothes. Maybe those straw raincoats used in the olden days but only plebeians can pull those off with their raggedy kimonos, not the rich landowner's beautiful daughter- okay, losing train of thought! Get back on track, brain!

She looks down embarrassed. "It flew away." she said hesitantly.

And here I thought I was crazy.

"It flew away?" I repeated, trying hard not to sound sarcastic about it.

She nods. "A gust of wind blew away my umbrella… And i've been stuck here ever since."

"And how long ago was that?"

She looks down, trying to avoid my gaze "Maybe three hours ago?" she admitted, covering her face in embarrassment.

I sigh "Do you want to come with me?" I asked.

She looks up. "Oh, no, I couldn't. My parents sent me on an errand for our inn. That's kinda why, i'm dressed like this…"'

No one is complaining about your outfit. Especially not me. That definitely accentuates your fine curves- NO! Bad brain! Bad!

"Okay, suit yourself." I start walking away but before that, i turn around and say one last thing. "By the way, it's gonna rain until 8 tonight. Are you sure you wanna stay here?"

She looks up in awe. "Oh my… okay, can we stop by the shopping district first?"

I extend my arm, prompting her to grab on to it.

Well today is gonna be slightly more exciting.

As we walk around, she asked me stuff like about school, Chie and the Inn. She and Chie seem to be really good friends and the in seems to keep her completely preoccupied at times, like tomorrow, she has to stay there all day to help out because she's so busy.

It's really weird when we walk around because there are so many people staring at us. I guess we kinda do stand out, don't we?

I take her back home once we're all done.

* * *

**Evening**

Nanako's here… alone… Isn't it a bit irresponsible to just leave a kid alone all this time?

I sit across from her.

"Dad's late." she said sadly.

The news is on again. "Our next story is an update in our ongoing report on the bizarre murders occurring in Inaba... "

It continues, but I don't even bother paying attention. It's probably stuff i'm already aware of.

Geez, isn't this a local news broadcast. Where are the fluff pieces!? I demand to see fluff! c'mon, there's a kid right here!

"Another incident." she says quietly "Dad won't be coming home tonight."

umm… Am i supposed to respond to this?

I can say **"It can't be helped.", "Are you worried about him?" **or even **"I'll be here with you."**

I think i can do better than that.

I say, **"Want ice cream?" **

She looks up in surprise, eyes widening in awe.

"You look bummed out, and I think Junes is still open. Let's go." I say as I outstretch my hand, reaching out to her.

"O-Okay!" Nanako says gleefully as she takes my hand. As we get up to leave, I take a glimpse at the TV, someone who looks like Yukiko appears on screen. Meh, it's probably just a rerun, it doesn't seem _that_ important. It's not like it'll effect me in any way at all.

Now where was I? Oh yes, ICE CREAM TIME!

* * *

**Later**

Woo! Made it before Uncle Dojima got back!

Now time to go bed- oh, it's raining again. Maybe i should watch the midnight channel before I go to sleep, for good measure of course.

_**23:59:57**_

_**23:59:58**_

_**23:59:59**_

_**00:00:00**_

*static*

There's a girl on it, but that's about it. Nothing really noteworthy.

...I should go to sleep.…

* * *

**Velvet Room**

What the- how the hell did I get back here?

"Do not be alarmed. You are fast asleep in the real world…"

Igor the big-nosed whatever-it-is?

"I have summoned you within your dreams. And so we meet again."

_Great…_

"This is a space that only those who have, in one way or another, entered into a contract may enter. In your daily life, you subconsciously heard the call to awaken, and you chose to follow the destiny of your inner voice… thereby enacting your glorious awakening to your power." Margaret says cryptically.

Margaret, I know you mean well, but do you have to go out of your way to make it sound so mysterious?

"Hold on to this..." Igor hands over a key. "From this night forth, you are our guest in this velvet room."

What do mean 'from this night forth'? What about the last time? And... how the hell am I supposed to come back to this place?

"Your destiny will require you to hone your power, and for that, you will inevitably require our help. There is but one price for this assistance…" _Great..._ "You must abide by your contract and assume responsibility for all decisions you may make."

"**I understand."**

"**I don't get it."**

Well, I always take responsibility for my actions anyway. I'll just say **-"Fair enough."**

"Very well. The persona you have acquired… It is a side of you that shows itself when you face the world around you. Perhaps you can think of it as… a facade of determination you wear to face various difficulties in life." So the psychological definition? "Your persona ability, however, is that of the wild card… Compared to that of others… it is very special. It is like the number zero… empty, yet holding infinite potential within itself. The persona ability is the power to control one's own heart… and the heart is strengthened through bonds. As you form bonds by becoming involved with the others, your own social links will gradually develop. The power of these social links is what will determine your persona's abilities."

"Social links are necessary for more than strengthening your persona. At times, they will help light the way to the truth you are searching for."

"Where will your awakened power of the wild card take you…? I look forward to traveling the road of your destiny together…*chuckle* Til we meet again…"

You know, it seems like Igor does all the talking whenever I'm in here... Meh, I'll sleep (or wake up) on it.

* * *

**4/16- Early Morning, ****Floodplain**

_*Ring* *Ring*_

"Yo!"

That familiar voice, plus a bike horn… He's gonna hurt himself...

"You saw what was on last night, right?" Yosuke asks as he pulls over, somehow not hurting himself and sending himself flying into the nearby trashcans "I couldn't tell who it was, but if someone's shown up on TV, we can't ignore it. Let's go check it out after school. Maybe Teddie can tell us something."

I swear, everyone talks so much in comparison to me, it's like I'm not saying anything most of the time. Including now.

"If it turns out someone was thrown in again, there really might be a culprit behind all this. Even if it is something about that place that's killing the victims… If someone's using that world as a weapon, that's unforgivable. We need to find the culprit… no matter what it takes! There's no way the police can do it… Who'd believe the murderer kills people by throwing them into the TV?"

Well we could just stick our hands in a TV and show them.

Four things come to my mind:

"**It has to be us."**

"**I want to keep my word too."**

"**Let's bring an end to this."**

"**You do it."**

**-"I'm in."**

Now that I think about it, it really isn't that different from the other options, isn't it.

"Great. By the way, I tried sticking my head in the TV last night, the way you did, and it actually worked. I think I can do that now because i have the same power. Persona wasn't it? Could be that we got this gift from someone specifically so we could solve the case. Then again, you managed to go inside the TV and get your Persona first… I feel like, as long as you're with me, I can find the culprit and crack this case. Well let's do our best!"

...Huh. I felt like I made a friend out of Yosuke. I wonder if this is that social link thing Igor was talking about. Nah- That was a dream, wasn't it?

* * *

**Afternoon, ****Classroom 2-2**

Chie rushes into the room, tired and out of breath "Have you guys seen Yukiko today?" she asks.

I haven't seen her and I'm pretty sure Yosuke hasn't seen her either.

"Is that stuff true? You know… all that about about how people showing up on the midnight channel is related to the other world. The person on TV yesterday… I think it was Yukiko. That kimono looked like the one she wears at the inn, and she wore it during that interview a few days ago too. I got worried, so I emailed her last night, but she hasn't responded… I called her in the evening though, and she said she'd be at school today… I-I…"

Yosuke spoke up, "Calm down. We get the picture. And you still haven't heard from her?"

"No, but If what you guys told me yesterday was true, maybe.. Yukiko was thrown in there too!?

"We don't know yet for sure. We should check to see if she's safe first. give her another call." Yosuke says.

Chie reaches to her phone and tries to dial Yukiko. "No good. It went straight to voicemail. She's not answering."

"I heard that she was helping out at her inn." I say.

Chie now looks at me with confusion."How do you know that?"

_*Attention Students.* _

The PA system has turned on before I can answer.

_*It has come to the attention of the police that one of our students, Yukiko Amagi, has gone missing. Police say that she was last seen yesterday afternoon arm in arm with a suspicious young male, described to be handsome, flirty, with a horrible dye job and not very well known in the area. If you have any information on the whereabouts of this miss Amagi or this suspicious male please contact a local police officers or other authority figures.*_

...

...

...

_**WHAT.**_

_**THE.**_

_**ACTUAL.**_

_**HELL?!**_

Who are they calling suspicious looking?! And only 'handsome'?! I am definitely more than just 'handsome'! And what's wrong with my hair!?

I am somewhat offended by that comm- why is everybody staring at me?

* * *

**After School**

Chie grabs me by the collar and slams me against the wall "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?!"

When it comes to being up against the wall with a girl, this is usually not what comes to mind.

"Whoa, calm down!" Yosuke pulls her off me "Look, Narukami might be an eccentric, flirtatious weirdo, but he's not the kind of guy who'd kidnap Yukiko!"

Yeah- wait, what'd you call me?

Chie takes a deep breath, taking a minute to calm down "Alright, sorry about that Narukami. I just got so worried, and the announcement…"

"Look, it's alright." I tell her, taking a minute to calm my own nerves "Look, I simply escorted her over to Junes and brought her back to her house. That's it." The two of them look at me skeptically, like they don't believe me "IT'S THE TRUTH!" Yeesh, why does it sound so unbelievable that I'd kindly escort a beautiful girl to her errands without any ill will?

"We said nothing," Yosuke sighs, rubbing his temples "Okay, now that we're all calmed down, let's get the facts straight."

Yeah, let's get everything in order... Okay, so let's see what we know. Yukiko got kidnapped. That's bad. She might be killed. That's also bad. She could be killed like that reporter and Saki-senpai. The reporter and Saki-senpai that showed up in the Midnight Channel. The Midnight Channel.

The Midnight Channel... That's it!

"Guys, you know about the two who got killed by the serial killer?"

Yosuke groans "don't remind me..." Yeah, that's still a sore point for him, not my best work...

"Look, From what I heard, they both supposedly appeared on the Midnight Channel a couple of days before they were killed. So, chances are that if it's the same killer, then we know they'll appear there."

"How does that make anything better?! With a theory like that, you're just begging for her to already be in that psycho's clutches!" Chie screams at me.

"Look, it's all I got! If you have any leads other than that, I'm all ears!" I yell back, before I calmed my nerves again "I know you're worried, but we won't get anywhere if we just panic."

...

...

...

There's an awkward silence in the air; it lingers in the air for the moment before Chie mutters "The Midnight Channel, huh?" She takes a deep breath and says "Okay, let's watch the Midnight Channel tonight, then we regroup over in Junes."

Sounds like a plan.

* * *

**Evening**

She might be in the TV…

She also might show up at the midnight channel…

I'm gonna watch… Will she show up…?

_**23:59:57**_

_**23:59:58**_

_**23:59:59**_

_**00:00:00**_

There's a clear pict- WHAT THE HELL!?

Is that!?

"**Good evening! Tonight, Princess Yukiko Has a big surprise!"**

Oh my god, She's there! but what is she doing!?

Is she really in the TV?

"**I'm gonna score myself a hot stud!"**

What the hell is that supposed to mean!?

"**Welcome to not a dream, not a hoax, Princess Yukiko's hunt for her Prince Charming!"**

A cheesy title screen pops up in front of her, with that lame-ass title sitting in front of it.

...What a lousy title for a TV show! And look at those horrible production values! Why would anyone in their right mind watch this bull- Wait if she's there, And I can put my hand in the TV… can't I just pull her out?

"**And I came prepared, I've got my lacy unmentionables on top to bottom!"**

Oh, yeah she is- NO bad dirty mind! Just grab her before the TV program ends!

"**I'm out to catch a whole harem-"**

I stick my hand into the TV hoping I can reach on to her... Come on... Come on...

_*Grab*_

I caught something!

Wait, this is hair… and this is way too short to be Yukiko's... It's also much rougher and scragglier, very much unlike Yukiko's silk-like hair... And I'm feeling traces of... hair gel, and the cheap kind too, used by total losers who try too hard.

What am I holding onto?

I stick my head into the TV to see what I'm holding onto.

It's…

It's...

It's... Yosuke…?

What the fu-?

"Dude let go! That hurts!" he screams as he struggles under my grip.

I release my grip on his head. His head is most likely sticking out of his own TV. Now for the real question:

"What on earth were you doing?"

He looks reluctant to answer. "Well, um, what were you doing?"

"I thought I Yukiko was in the TV so I tried to grab her. I reached in, thinking I could pick her up and bring her through the TV since she's smaller than me assumed that she would fit. But, i grabbed you instead. I guess we can't get there unless we go directly. So what were you doing?"

"Oh, um, I was thinking the same thing!? Yeah, that's what happened!" He chuckles nervously.

None of his arms are in the TV.

"So, you tried to grab her… with your head?" I ask, trying very hard not to sound snarky.

He really looks like he doesn't want to answer, so I understandably start to think he was up to something else.

"Anyway, That was definitely Yukiko, but wasn't the stuff she was saying sound weird?" He says.

Weird is an understatement…

"And she looked like she was on some low budget TV show… Was it like this before too? What's going on?"

"**Calm down."**

"**Try to call Yukiko."**

"**Try to call Chie."**

**-"Let's try tomorrow."**

"Yeah, we can't really do much at this time of night, I'll call Chie later. We'll go in the TV and if she's there, we grab her."

"Sounds like a plan."

…

…

…

"So, umm… You live really close to me…"

"Apparently…"

"Umm… Goodnight."

"Yeah, you too…"

* * *

**4/17- Early Morning**

Why is it that everytime i'm down here, Nanako is all alone?

"Good morning."

**"Where's your father?"**

"**You're up early."**

**-"Why are you always alone?"**

"Dad, always has work…" Nanako says sadly "I'm normally here all alone until he gets back… You can go out for the day if you want. I'll just be here."

Umm…

That sounds pretty lousy especially for a kid…

Part of me really wants to stay but I kinda have to… save someone…

Now I feel lousy...

When I come back, I'll make sure to play with her.

I won't let her be lonely like I was.

* * *

**Daytime, ****Junes**

Where is Yosuke?

I've been out here for a while now…

There he is- Why are his hands behind his back?

"Sorry for the holdup. I found some stuff we can use in the closet at home. Take a look at these!"

At that second he holds up a katana and a nata. To my face. Dangerously close to my face.

Oh shit!

How on earth did he carry those up here without getting caught!?

"We've got our Personas, but a golf club's not that reliable of a weapon. So, which one strikes your fancy? He says, presenting the two very sharp objects into my face again.

Now I could say **"The katana", "The nata"** or even** "Neither." **But for some reason,_ rationality, of all things,_ won out in my mind, and I screamed:

"**What the hell are you doing swinging those around?!"**

"Well, if we're gonna be fighting those thing then we need to be prepared." Yosuke says, taking my yelling pretty calmly "Relax, the blades are fake!"

If they're fake, then why the hell did you think it would help us?

"I think that both would be good for me. Kinda like this, or like this! What about this!?"

He keeps flailing the blades around… It doesn't look like he knows what he's doing… this idiot's gonna hurt himself… or more likely...me…

As he swings them with supposed 'skill', I spot a clearly alarmed cop in the corner of my eye.

…

…

…

Well, Yosuke's going to jail. Should I pay for his bail myself or get his parents to do it?

He picks up his radio "Calling all units. Calling all units. Two suspicious young males found, one wielding multiple weapons, the other fitting the description of a person of interest in the Amagi missing person's case. Requesting immediate backup."

They really do think I'm a criminal, don't they…

Wait… Does that mean… I'm getting arrested too?

...Oh crap.

What should I do?

"Yosuke, whatever you do, put those things down, right now." I say with alarm.

He looks at me, confused, as if he doesn't see the cop radioing for backup.

"Put those down, now. A cop's radioing for backup because of those weapon in your hands… and because I'm a person of interest for Yukiko's kidnapping for whatever reason."

He turns around, still swinging those 'fake' weapons, only for the cop to hop over the fence and put a hand on his gun.

"Both of you, drop your weapons and put your hands in the air." He says sternly.

Yosuke starts to panic. "No wait, we didn't steal them!"

Yeah, like that makes it better.

"Well, not that that we're not doing anything bad!"

Isn't possession still a bad thing? I'm pretty sure this country allows ownership of antiques and genuine weapons, but you need permits and lots of hoops to jump through for that to happen.

"We're just two ordinary kids who like weapons…" Yosuke says weakly.

Not helping!

"Put the weapons down now! You two are under arrest!" The cop says as he draws his sidearm, aiming it right at Yosuke.

Suddenly the panicked Yosuke tries to explain himself, saying something that the equally panicked me could not understand. However his mistake was to flail the weapons in front of the cop.

"Freeze!" He says as his backup surrounds-

Oof!

_*Thud!*_

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand... I just got tackled from behind... Well shit.

* * *

**A/N: Aaaaaaaaaaaand… Done! Yeah, sorry for the delay. Me and my bro are now full time college students and we honestly can't update or work on our stories as much as we want to. Sorry, but we will do the best we can. My brother and I were having some creational arguments… and about the Arcanas of the cast of Persona 5, just so this argument can be settled, what arcana do you guys think Ann Takamaki has? We also wanted to write an original side story instead of story previews. we just wanted to try them out, tell us what you guys think and we'll think about continuing them. And as always, here's a story about my brother, I find this mystery about him oddly amusing. He was terrified of our salutatorian in high school. I actually don't know why, and apparently neither does she. He did do his best to avoid her and claim it was "Out of respect" and occasionally saying she "probably doesn't like me" (still talking about my twin here). Here's where things get interesting though, Her parents and her older sister (Who he met by chance and didn't know who they were at that point) don't seem to mind him that much and arguable like him to a certain degree and vice versa. This was evident when I met her mom, when introduced by my twin who seemed to like him. He also placed her parents only a list he calls "Favorite couples that he has met, noting how cute they are together and how, according to him, seem to be in sync. My bro, always full of mysteries, this is one of them.**

**And now for an original side story co-written by the two of us!**

* * *

**Another Day 1, Part 1**

**After School**

**Floodplain**

Why does it seem like time seems to stop when it's the middle of the day, but when I do something even as simple as talking to one of my friends, time flies and hits me like a brick? …Whatever. May be one of life's greatest mysteries.

Now- wait, is someone running towards me?

**Naoto**

**Rise**

**-Yukiko**

**Chie**

Is that... Yukiko? That's weird, she usually hangs out with Chie back in school.

She stops on a dime right in front of me. "Yu-kun, please hide me right now!"

I don't even have time to react to this. She's never like this.

"What?"

"Please, just help me! Hurry!"

I've never seen her look panicked before. This seems serious. With no time to waste, I see one of those rusty outdoor tables that nobody looks at to hide under. She can probably climb the nearby trees, well if I support her or something. There's also an empty trashcan as well.

"Well?"

She looks at me desperately for help.

"**Hide under the table. Nobody ever sees anyone under a table."**

**-"Climb up that tree! I'll give you a boost!"**

"**Hide in the trashcan, just like Yosuke always does for some reason."**

She quickly nods as I give her a boost up the tree- hey, she's wearing lacy black panties. _Niiiiiice-_NO! BAD MIND! DO NOT GO THERE- wait, can't people see her red clothes clashing with the foliage?

"Dammit! I lost her again!"

Without my noticing, some really sweaty guy, came around.

"'Scuse me, but are you looking for something?" I ask.

"Isn't it obvious?"

If it was obvious, why would I ask?

"I saw this cute girl with long black hair and a red sweater on the midnight channel a couple months back." Sweaty explains, still catching his breath "She's obviously my soulmate. So when I finally found her today, I tried telling her how it's meant to be, but all she did was run away from me."

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooh, now I get it. Crazy-sweaty-guy here thinks Yukiko's his soulmate and did something _very, very_ creepy. Now the only question is why did she run- Wait, why the hell am I asking myself a stupid question? It's way too obvious why she ran.

"Did you see where she went?" Crazy-sweaty asks me.

**Tell him where she is.**

**-Tell him an outrageous, almost over-the-top yet still somewhat believable lie.**

"I think she was heading towards the bus station. The only place the buses go right now is Okina city. If you go now you might just be able to catch the next bus there and see her."

He nods and runs off in that direction. Well that was mean of me. Snrk. It should be safe for Yukiko to come down now. Which tree was she up again?

uh oh…

C'mon Yukiko where are you? I mean, how hard is it to miss someone wearing red in a tree? Besides the crazy, sweaty guy... And as of right now, me...

"Psst. Is he gone?"

I look up in a nearby tree. There she is. I look her right in the eye and say, "He's gone."

"Great. Thank you." She says calmly.

There's the Yukiko calmness I know and love. She keeps staring at me with a red face.

"W-what is it?" She asks.

Oh, geez. I'm still staring at her.

"**Why aren't you coming down?**

**-"I'm just enjoying the view."**

She blushes as quickly covers her exposed skirt "Geez, perv." heh, she looks away, embarrassed. how cute.

…

…

…

"So, are you coming down anytime soon?"

She looks away. Was it something I said?

"Umm… I don't think I can get down…"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Do you see that branch over there?" She says as she points at a broken branch. A fresh broken branch… Oh, she really can't climb down.

"Want me to catch you?"

She looks at me uneasily "I'm not so sure about that..." What are you talking about? You don't look that heavy

"Come on." I position my hands as if I'm ready to catch her.

She nods reluctantly and slowly gets ready to fall.

This can't be so har-

_*thud*_

Holy crap... She's heavier than I thought... And her skin is soooooooo soft...

"Umm, Why aren't you letting me go?"

**"Sorry, I'll let you down now."**

**-"I just wanna savor the moment."**

Hehe, she's blushing even more now.

I'm gonna just put her down now.

"So, who was that guy?" I ask "There's something clearly wrong with him."

Yukiko shrugs "He's just some guy who's been stalking me lately. No biggie."

"And you're disturbingly comfortable with that." I frown.

"Well," she looks at me uneasily "I get stalked all the time, but they don't do anything because I usually have Chie at my side. But…"

"But what?"

"She's been gone recently…"

I pale "S-She wasn't on the Midnight Channel, was she?"

"What?! N-No!" Yukiko quickly shakes her head "She's just been so busy I rarely see her, and those stalkers…"

"Say no more." I say with great bravado.

"**Let's find Chie!"  
"Let's find Chie!"**

"**Let's find Chie!"**

Huh, that's weird, they're all identical this time. Well, whatever.

**-"Let's find Chie!"  
-"Let's find Chie!"**

**-"Let's find Chie!"**

Yukiko blinks "Huh?"

"You and Chie are inseparable; it's not like her to leave you at the mercy of some weirdos. Granted, in light of recent events, you're more than able to fend for yourself, but still."

"Yeah," Yukiko nods "I haven't seen Chie either. Let's see what she's doing."

"Two-man investigation team sub-mission: Chie's Whereabouts!" I proudly announce "Ready?"

"Go!" She cheers as we give each other a high-five... Only for the both of us to awkwardly reel back.

"Let us never do/speak of that again."

"Agreed."

* * *

**In Front of Chie's House**

Wow, she has a nice house-

_*CRASH!*_

Suddenly, some weird guy in a suit barges out of the main door, barely escaping a large, angry St. Bernard, rushing past me and Yukiko.

As soon as he's past the gate, Chie, more furious than I ever seen her before, screams at the top of her lungs "AND DON'T YOU DARE COME BACK YOU SON OF A BI-"

She freezes as soon as she sees us. And here I thought the only guy she ever gets mad at is Yosuke.

Yukiko awkwardly waves at her "Hey, Chie... What's going on? I-"

**"So... How's it going?"**

**"Umm, your legs still look nice..."**

**-"Who the hell was that guy?"**

Chie's anger almost immediately turns into shame "Uuuuuuh, I was hoping you guys wouldn't see me."

A middle aged woman resembling Chie came into view of the doorway, frowning "Chie, that's the fourth one this week!" She frowns at her before looking at the two of us "Oh, Yukiko-san, It's nice to see you again, are you doing well?" She asks, her smile overtaking her frown.

"Hi, Mrs. Satonaka, I'm doing just fine, thank you for asking." Yukiko says, trying very hard not to express her total bewilderment.

Chie's mom, who looks really good for a woman in her late 30's, smiles before looking at me. "And who is this young man?"

"**I'm Yukiko's boyfriend."**

"**I'm Chie's boyfriend."**

**-"I'm Yu Narukami. You must be Chie's mother; I see where she gets her good looks."**

"My, my, you're a charmer, now aren't you?" Mrs. Satonaka smirks "Too bad I have a husband,"

"What a shame, I can totally see what your husband saw in you the second he first laid eyes on you-"

I pause as Yukiko and Chie give me a 'What the heck are you doing' look I'm used to receiving by this point. Yeah, this is getting a bit too awkward even for my tastes- oh, who am I kidding? I'm enjoying every second of this! I better tone it down though, for politeness' sake.

"So, you are the famous Narukami Chie always talks about. I see what she sees in you."

"MOM!" Chie screeches, her face redder than ever. But hey, she talks about me at home, I'm enjoying that thought.

"So, who was that guy?" I say, quickly changing the topic.

"_WELL_, Chie, here was supposed to at least talk to him," she frowned at her daughter, who returned the frown with an uncomfortable grimace "_but_ you can see how that ended."

"**What did they have to talk about?"**

"**Did Chie kick him?"**

**-"What for?"**

"Her father and I are worried about her." She pauses, like she's trying to find the right words to say "She's not exactly… how you say… feminine..."

"Mom!" Chie looks like she wants to die so much right now.

Ignoring her daughter, Mrs. Satonaka continues "So her father and I arranged some marriage interviews because we're afraid... she won't attract a husband when she's older." She uneasily scratches her head as Chie buries her face in her hands.

So her parents are _those_ kinds of parents- hey wait a second…

"How come _I_ wasn't invited as a marriage candidate?" I ask, shifting everyone's attention towards me. "Am I not marriage material?"

"..." Chie glares at me even further; she clearly doesn't want to go through another. Maybe I should take it ba-

"That's a great idea!" Mrs. Satonaka clasps her hands in agreement.

Wait… what?

"Mom, you can't be serious…" Chie groans.

"Nonsense!" Mrs. Satonaka smiles "The next one isn't coming until next week! You have plenty of time for this nice young man!"

Hehehe… Mrs. Satonaka likes me… Oh yeah!

"Okay, let's do this marriage interview thing!" I give Chie a thumbs-up, much to her horror (hey, I thought we were friends!) "Don't fall in love with me too quickly."

* * *

**A/N: I know what you guys are thinking and yes, he flirts with parents too, and they love it, to the amazement of anyone watching. As always, please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Player Choices**

**By psychored1911**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 4 or Persona 4 Golden.**

**Chapter 7**

**4/17- Daytime**

**Police Station, Interrogation Room**

* * *

Uncle Dojima and a scraggly guy with a red tie walk into the room, with Uncle Dojima giving me a _'Why am I not surprised'_ look.

"I swear I've been in this situation with my brother-in-law before…" he mutters.

What?

"Dear gods, Yu," Dojima just facepalms "Why does everyone in the police department think you're the kidnapper?"

"I've been thinking the same thing since I went to school earlier today." I tell him "Look, Uncle Dojima, I'm innocent. All I did was meet her when I was coming back home, and accompanied her when she was shopping. It was fun- I mean I didn't do anything to her! I swear!"

Scraggly whispers into Uncle Dojima's ear "Didn't you say he moved in a few days ago-"

Dojima swats him with an offhand slap before rubbing his temples again "Okay then, if you're telling the truth about that, can you explain why you guys were armed?"

**-Sell out Yosuke and brand him a delinquent**

**Say it was my fault**

**Tell the truth**

No, no… that's just a dick move, even by my standards. Let's try this again:

**Sell out Yosuke and brand him a delinquent**

**Say it was my fault**

**-Tell the truth**

"He was trying to show off and he forgot that bringing weapons to a mall was illegal… and then I was arrested for being a suspect in the kidnapping case." Wow, I still sound like I'm throwing him under the bus.

Dojima and Scraggly exchange weird glances before continuing "So, how do we know you're not lying?"

"**Because I'm your nephew."**

**-"Because let's face it, I could have done worse."**

"**Because it doesn't make sense that I'd kidnap and kill people I barely knew the first few days I was here."**

I dunno why I'm using that second argument when that third one sounds so much better for my case, but my panicking is kinda screwing with my judgement...

Uncle Dojima stares at me for a good minute, before sighing "You really are your parents' kid."

Yeah- wait, what's that supposed to mean?

Dojima threw his hands up "Adachi, we don't have any proof about him being the kidnapper, right?"

Scraggly, who's probably this Adachi guy, nods dumbly "Well yeah, but he still has that weapons charge-"

"He was never holding the weapons himself and it's only a first offense, so we can let him off on a warning…" he rubbed his temples again "Dear god, I'm gonna need a cold one once this is over…"

* * *

**Police Station, Lobby**

My god, that was awkward… I live with the guy who interrogated me… This is gonna get weird when I get home, I just know it.

Now, where did Yosuke go? He wasn't in there with me… Why do I have the feeling he got processed?

"Yo, dude!" Yosuke and (for some reason) Chie called out for me. Huh, guess he didn't get processed.

"Dude, where did you go?" Yosuke asks, worried.

"I had to explain to my uncle why I got arrested…" I told him.

Chie looks at me with a confused expression "Huh? But you came out of the interrogation room."

"My uncle is a detective who works here. And take a wild guess who interrogated me."

They both give me a cringing expression. Yeah, we stare at each other awkwardly until I spoke up "So, I don't think I'm getting my stuff back…" NO SHIT, SHERLOCK!

"Yeah, and we can't exactly just barge into the TV World unarmed like total idiots…" Chie says, before she realizes her mistake and glares at me "No. NO. You are NOT gonna-"

**Hear her out**

**-CHARGE!**

I start running fast out the door. Chie, noticing that I was gonna try to charge into the TV world like an idiot, runs behind me and tackles me onto the ground. We didn't even get past the door in the police station. Ah well, there's a hot athletic girl on top of me, so silver lining.

"The last time you guys went in there unarmed you nearly died!" I wish I can take Chie seriously, but when you feel a hot girl's ass pressing against your back, it's really hard to focus.

Yosuke is still behind us, shaking his head at me in disbelief "Well, I guess Junes had some sports equipment we could use for weapons…"

Yeah, we can casually walk into an electronics section with unpaid sports equipment- that reminds me, did I ever pay for that golf club? I probably should, considering all the dents I left it from beating the crap out of the fake Yosuke-Frog-Ninja-Centaur-reject. Now that I mention it, didn't I just leave it in there?

"Weapons? I think I have an idea…" Chie ponders out loud.

We could just ask a nice cop to get us weapons for money. Adachi might… Nah, why would he even want us to succeed? Now that I think about it, what kind of cop would sell weapons to teenagers? That's just plain irresponsible, and that's coming from me!

"Do you want me to steal stuff?" I ask.

They look at me in surprise. "Why would stealing be an option?" They both ask in unison.

"I mean this is a police station and this place does have a lot of weapons…"

"No! You aren't stealing anything!" Chie tells me, clearly angry with me.

Well it's too late for that. I'm actually not that bad a thief. In fact, I got so good at it, I trained this messy-haired kid on stealing things a long time ago… I wonder if I was a bad influence… nah, he probably turned out okay.

Chie cups her chin in thought "Actually, I think I know this _one_ place that can sell us weapons.

That's great and all Chie, but can you get off right now? You're kinda getting heavy...

* * *

**Daidara metalworks **

So, this place huh? To think they'd have a working blacksmith in this neck of the woods. Ooh! I wonder what else they have in this town! I wanna see the shrine next! Maybe they have cute miko working there or-

Oh, I think Yosuke and Chie already walked in. I should probably stop daydreaming like an idiot and actually go inside.

I walk inside and spot the two of them tlking to the guy with the scar. I try not to stare… at the scar… Man, that probably must have one hell of a backstory. Maybe he got into a samurai sword fight and got hurt when his sword broke. Or maybe he got attacked by a wild animal. Or maybe he was fighting a giant robot… Yeah, a robot! And it had massive claws and razor sharp teeth and-

"Kid, are you okay?" The guy says to me, concerned.

Oh crap! I have to say something! Or else he'll notice that I'm staring at his massive scar! Umm, umm…!

"**Scar."**

"**Scaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrr."**

"**Big scar."**

"**Scar! Scar! Bloody SCAR! Dude, what is up with that scar! Scar! Scar!"**

**-"What are you selling?"**

"I'm selling art!" He grins wildly, gesturing to his store "Take your time, look around!"

Nice guy with a distracting scar. Good to know.

Ok, look around. Hey a katana. Let's see the price… Here's a label… Imitation katana.

…

Okay, not the katana. I am not ready to die by my sword breaking and stabbing me in the face. I want a sword… And maybe not to stare at his scar since it' _is_ kinda rude. But mostly a sword.

"**Scar."**

**-"what swords do you have for sale?"**

"Ah, so you're interested in my swords? They're some of my best work."

Then why is there one labeled 'imitation' then?

"Do you want me to show you a special one from the back?" He jabs his thumb towards the back.

**-"Yes."**

"**Scar."**

"**No."**

"Just wait I'll be right back."

He leaves to a back room in his shop.

I hope it's a lightsaber. I really hope it's a lightsaber. Maybe it's a double bladed lightsaber! That would be awesome!

"I'm back." He says.

Please be a double bladed lightsaber- It's a… Aww, it's not a double bladed lightsaber, it's not even a lightsaber. It's just a double bladed katana… Actually that is cool, but there's no way I can ever hide that on my body.

"Heh, good piece, right-" He notices my awkward stare and gives me a knowing look "Oh, I think I may know what you're looking for…"

He leaves and comes back with… A wicked looking greatsword! I mean DAMN! That looks amazing! And did I really just use the word 'wicked'? What am I, my parents?

"Like what you see?" Daidara grins "Y'see, this is a custom piece I made for this big movie, but they never bothered to claim it. Pfft, and they didn't even bother paying me, those bastards…" He starts grumbling under his breath "And to think that movie would make-"

"You were saying?" I get him back on track before this conversation goes down a weird road.

"Whazzat? Oh yes," he clears his throat before continuing "This here is a custom one-sided greatsword, hand-forged with damascus steel, made sharp, light and battle-ready, one of the best I've ever made.

That. Sounds. Awesome.

"For only 298,000 yen."

That. Sounds. Horrible.

Why would I pay 298,000 yen for that? That's kind of a dealbreaker for me. Sure it's custom, but I got like 10,000 yen in my pocket right now. As awesome as that sword is, I have to decline it.

Or...

Maybe I can just take it…

I mean, he is behind the counter… If I start running he'd have to go all the way to the other side of the store that would give me... maybe... a 4 second head start? Do I know the layout of this town well enough to get out of his line of sight? Hmm… I don't see any security cameras… I didn't touch anything, so there is no real proof of me being here than his testimony…

I guess I could **steal it**...or I could just **just don't steal it… **

**Steal it**

**-Don't steal it**

There's no talent in stealing like that! It's even more stupid to steal and he knows about it. If you really have to steal something, take it from those who can afford to be robbed… or at least really have it coming.

He seems like a nice guy, and this is still a business. And considering the many, many stores closed down around here, taking it would probably bankrupt him

I guess should just refuse it and hand it back to him.

"Go on, you can have it." He says with a shrug.

What?

"Really?" I ask.

"Go ahead. No one even wants that thing and it's been taking up space. And that price is one I make to scare off no-good idiots. Besides, even if you really wanted to use it in a fight in real life, it takes so much energy from swinging it once that you would probably be left exposed and have to take a hit from the other guy. Or, y'know, you'd just trip and fall."

Well that sucks.

"And you'd probably be arrested on the spot by cops if you were caught with it in public."

Well that sucks a little more. I don't need to get arrested a second time.

"Not to mention its size really draws attention."

That's it! This thing'll bring me more trouble than it's worth. I can't carry this into the TV world and back without getting arrested. Not to mention the fact that I would be at a disadvantage if I missed!

"No thank you. I appreciate the offer but I don't think I can even use this-"

"What do you mean by _use?"_ he glares at me suddenly, frightening me (and presumably Chie and Yosuke; I can't really tell since they're behind me) "It can be used in a fight, but no one in their right mind would actually use it, especially not in this day and age!"

Oh crap.

"Don't tell me that you were planning on actually using this now, were you?!"

Oh crap.

Oh crap.

I think I should have run away- No, calm down! Panic always clouds your judgement.

**Run now!**

**-Play it cool.**

**Panic!**

I calm down as much as I can. I can get through this.

"So what were you gonna do with it?!"

Umm…

"**I was going to murder someone…"**

"**I was gonna slay a monster…"**

"**Scar."**

Shit! Why're all these choices so crappy! Aw… fuck it!

"**I was going to murder someone…"**

**-"I was gonna slay a monster…"**

"**Scar."**

"YOU MEAN THE RIVER GUARDIAN?!" He screams, genuinely interested… And intense… "THE GIANT MYTHICAL FISH THAT LIVES IN THE RIVERBANK!?"

…

…

…

The what?

"You know I saw that monstrosity!" He jumps over the counter and starts ranting "I went fishing with my friend who normally stays by the riverbank one time and we went out and actually saw that magnificent creature. It was enormous. When we went over to take a better look at, we didn't know how ferocious it was! Before it was chaotically floundering around in an attempt to put itself back in the water, it grabbed onto my head and wouldn't let go. And I still have the scar to prove it!"

Well that explains the big scar on his face.

He turns around and points to the back of his neck "This one right here!" If I look _real close_ there are some very inconspicuous little scratch marks on his lower neck. Unfortunately...

THAT JUST GIVES ME MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT HIS STORY!

What about the x-shaped scar on his face?! And how on earth is there a giant fish in a river?! And how does this have anything to do with me getting a weapon?! Just what is up with this town?!

"If you actually are going after that sea devil, I want you to use one of my blades…" He shoves the sword into my arms, tears in his eyes "And gut that bastard in the throat! Can you do that for me, boy?"

I... guess I got a sword… and I'm going fishing later. But one problem still remains: I still can't hide it on me.

**Try looking up the solution on the internet**

**-Smuggle it in with a box**

Yeah, I guess that might work. The fear from the initial killings probably died down a bit after my arrest, so I guess there'll be less police. Probably.

"Thank you. I'll get back on the um… giant fish, as soon as possible." I bow "And I might need a box for this."

Swords aren't really my kind of weapon, I mean it's cool but I prefer a bow, but I guess it'll do for now.

* * *

**South Shopping District**

After I bought myself a sword, I left Yosuke and Chie in the shop. They can buy their own weapons; it's not like they were expecting me to buy their weapons for them or anything, right?

_*FLASH*_

Gah! What the hell?! Where did this door come from?! It's just sitting there, right in the middle of the sidewalk! I look around franticaly; nobody else even seems to bat an eye at it. Am I the only one who can see it or something?!

This place is more exciting than the people here give it credit for...

*_So it finally begins… Now, If you'll just give me a moment of your time…*_

Great, voices in my head… Annnnnnd the key I got from my dream is in my pocket and shining…

I should really check if I'm crazy.

What the hell, I'm going in.

* * *

**Velvet Room**

Annnnnnd… I'm in the back of the suspicious moving vehicle again, with Margaret, Pointy-Nose and- Hey, it's that girl from the the first day i got here. Still as cute as ever…

"We have been expecting you." Igor greeted "The catastrophe that is headed your way… It has already taken human lives in its approach towards you… But you have nothing to fear. You already have the power to fight against it. It seems that the time to use your Persona has come." he chuckles creepily.

"Your persona ability is that of the wild card." If you strengthen your bonds properly, their power will help you overcome any ordeal. Our role is to facilitate that."

"My contribution… is to give birth to new personas. By mixing multiple persona cards, I can transmute them into a new form… This, in other words, is the fusion of personas. You have the power to hold multiple personas and to use them accordingly. When you defeat an enemy, the seeds of possibility will appear before you as cards. At times they may be hard to grasp… but you must master your fear and reach out to them. When you obtain new cards, do not hesitate to bring them here. If you have been developing your social links, then your persona will gain even more power… They will be one of your chief sources of strength… You would do well to take this to heart."

I swear, these lectures are starting to get tedious…

"The tome in my hand is the persona compendium. Registering the personas you hold will allow you to recall them at any time. Please see me when you wish to use it. Oh, one more thing. I would like to introduce a new resident of the Velvet room, who will be helping you on your journey. Marie?"

"Yeah, I can hear." The cute girl, I guess her name's Marie, rolls her eyes "Nice to meet you."

Still kinda mean. Oh well, I still like her.

Wait, what do you mean 'Nice to meet you.'? We met earlier. I wonder if I could jog her memory…

I could say **"I met you somewhere…" **or ask **"What are you doing here?" **or** just say nothing.**

I wonder what i can do to make her rememberme. Normally I make one hell of an introduction… That's it!

"**How could my lovely cutie of a wife forget me?"**

"W-What!?" Her face flushes red before turning angrily "I told you already I'm not your wife! StupidflirtyweirdohusbandIhateyou!"

She remembered me _and _called me her husband. I call that a victory.

"My, my, do you work fast." Margaret says teasingly "Please excuse her rudeness. This is Marie. Her soul is still very young and-"

"Shut up! Don't tell him more about me than you have to." Marie barks at her.

Wow, rude and cute. I like that... I have weird taste in girls...

"As you can see, She might be brusque at times, but please understand that she is only an apprentice and forgive her for her impoliteness." Margaret bows in apology.

"**Got it."**

"**I guess." **

**-"Anything for her."**

She chuckled"You seem to like her already." Margaret said teasingly "Very well. Marie will be dealing with 'skill cards. Using these cards will allow you to provide your personas with new powers. Also, I am sure that she will help you form a bond between yourself and the 'outside world.' Marie will contact you at a later date. Please feel free to speak with her here to use her services."

I don't know how, but that felt a bit complicated.

Igor chuckled "Do you recall my words to you before? 'The coming year is a turning point in your destiny… If the mystery goes unsolved, your future may be forever lost.' I meant precisely what i said. Defeat in battle is not the only way your journey may come to an end… Please do not forget this. When next we meet, you will come here of your own will. *chuckle* I look forward to it. Until then, farewell."

* * *

**South Shopping District**

At least he won't interrupt me in my sleep... maybe...

I wouldn't mind Marie though-

Wait a second, what was I doing? I think I had to go somewhere… I needed to... I needed to... Oh, right, the TV.

* * *

**Junes Department Store**

They are in their school uniforms… on a Sunday. It's a Sunday… Why do I have the feeling that I missed something?

"Dude, Why aren't you wearing your uniform?" Yosuke asks.

"Isn't it Sunday?" I ask back.

"Don't you remember what we said in the shop?" Chie asks me with a frown "We said to hide our equipment in our uniforms so that we don't stand out."

First of all, I left the store before you guys did, so I don't know what conversation you're all talking about. Second, you guys are standing out more by wearing them! Granted, I don't see your weapon so the concealment part's working, but as the murder suspect here I don't need the extra attention.

"Look, does it really matter?" I ask as I walk over to the TV section "Come on, we need to get Yukiko out, don't we?"

Yosuke nods in agreement "You're right; the longer she's there, the longer she's in danger."

**TV World- In front of... some Castle… for some reason...**

* * *

After we threw ourselves into the TV World and made contact with Teddie, we had him use that bear nose of his to find Yukiko's location. However, nobody ever told me that she was in a castle. Or that there even was a castle in this place. Or the fact that she somehow got inside the castle when she entered the Midnight Channel. I mean seriously, I thought when you come into this place, you were still technically outside and you needed to physically go in… you know what, I'm just gonna move on, I'm just confusing myself by this point.

"So this is where she is." Chie says as she cracks her knuckles. Wow, they must've been really close "Come on guys, let's get her out of there!" she says as she charges inside.

Yosuke blinks in surprise "Wait, we're just barging in without a plan?!"

I smirk "Of course we have a plan: Chie charges in and we follow a couple seconds later…" I look at my phone "Starting… NOW!" I charge in after her, dragging Teddie along with me.

Behind me, I think I hear Yosuke say something along the lines of "Ugh... why am _I_ the sane one?" before following us in.

* * *

**Castle Floor 2**

"BOOYAKA!" I yell as I kick down the door, with Yosuke and Teddie wheezing behind me as they barely climb the stairs behind me. In front of me was Chie who had paused for some reason.

"**SHE SAID RED LOOKS GOOD ON ME… I HATED MY NAME… YUKIKO… "SNOW"..."**

I pause and look up as a disembodied voice echoes throughout the room. It sorta sounds like… Yukiko.

"**SNOW IS COLD AND IT MELTS QUICKLY…"**

Huh, this is sort of like when Yosuke and I entered that old liquor store when we were here the other day.

"**CHIE IS SO KIND…"**

Yeah, this is like- Wait, didn't a second Yosuke appear last time?

"'Chie is so kind,' huh? What a joke."

I look back over to Chie and… another Chie. Uh oh.

"_Are we talking about THAT Yukiko!? She says I'm protecting her!? She says she's worthless! *Chuckle* That's how it should be, right!?" _Fake Chie snickers, her creepy eyes piercing right through me and presumably Chie.

Chie looks scared. "What are you saying?"

"_Yukiko's sooo good looking… sooo fair-skinned… sooo feminine… She's the one all the guys drool over." _Fake Chie snarls _"When Yukiko looked at me with such jealousy… Man, did I get a charge out of that_!" She laughs unnervingly "_Yukiko knows the score. She can't do anything if I'm not around… I'm better than her… Much, much better!"_

Ouch.

Chie starts shaking, panic and fear in her face "N-No! I would never think that!"

"Chie, calm down-" Yosuke tries reaching for her, only for her to swat his hand away. She's clearly losing her nerves here. And I'm narrating to myself when I should be doing something, great.

Fake Chie chuckles_ "That's right. I'm the one who can't do anything alone. I can't win as a girl, let alone as a person… I'm pathetic. But Yukiko… She depends on me… *chuckle* That's why she's my friend… I'll never loosen my grip on her… She's too important to me…"_

Chie starts visibly sweating "No, that's not how I think of her…"

Fake Chie snorts _"So, you're just gonna turn your back and deny me again? But times are different now. When the time comes… I'll be the one left. You won't mind, right? I'm still you!"_

"Shut up…" Chie stammers, before suddenly screaming"You're not me!"

"_**Heehee… Ahahahahahaha!"**_ Fake Chie laughs maniacally as shadows start engulfing her!

Aw, crap! It just got dangerous. I turn to Chie; she's somehow unconscious. Great, that's just great. I signal Teddie to get Chie out of here as Yosuke and I face off against the-

Bikini-wearing banana-racist hooded dominatrix… sitting on top of these three grey girls, who are clearly struggling to support her weight. I-I really don't know what to say about this; that's just weird, even for me.

"I AM A SHADOW, THE TRUE SELF…" Grand Wizard Dominatrix declares "WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK YOU'RE DOING? TRYING TO DEFEND THE 'REAL' ME? THEN YOU'RE GONNA PAY THE PRICE!"

Ugh, as much as I'd love to make a joke about this. I really don't have time to make up a joke.

**Attack**

**Zio**

**-Knock over the bottom girl**

I quickly sprint around the bottom girl and stomp on the back of her calf, forcing her to her knees. Almost immediately, she tumbles onto the floor, sending middle girl, top girl and Grand Wizard Dominatrix crashing down.

I turn towards Yosuke and Teddie, who were staring at me in total disbelief. Really?! Oh come on, that was clearly the most reasonable course of action!

"What are you waiting for?" I say with a crossed expression "Beat this racist perv into the ground!"

**All-Out Attack!**

**Stomp her into the ground!**

**-Pound her till she can't stand anymore!**

I jump onto Grand Wizard Dominatrix and start wailing on her like there's no tomorrow.

_*THWACK!*_

This is for Chie!

_*THWACK!*_

This is for Yukiko!

_*THWACK!*_

This is for for being racist even though Chie doesn't seem like the racist type!

_*THWACK!*_

This is for wearing a stupid banana on your head!

_*THWACK!*_

This is for making those three girls (who are probably Shadows anyways) support you in a totally uncomfortable-looking position!

_*THWACK!*_

This is because I exploited the fact you're virtually an unstable human-totem pole!

_*THWACK!*_

This is for me not being prepared with any sex jokes; your appearance _really _caught me off guard!

_*THWACK!*_

This is for wasting my time pounding your ass!

_*THWACK!*_

And THIS is for-

"Dude, chill out!"

"Sensei, calm down!"

Yosuke and Teddie suddenly yank me off Grand Wizard Dominatrix.

"What's your deal?! I was trying to beat that-" I suddenly turn towards Grand Wizard Dominatrix; in front of it was my persona Izanagi, with Jiraiya trying to restrain it just as its master was doing to me.

"...Huh. I don't recall summoning Izanagi." I mutter after a good minute.

"Well, in the middle of your little beatdown, you summoned him, and he started punching her alongside you. However, I'd like to bring your attention to the crater."

"Crater?"

Yosuke pointed at the crater where the Grand Wizard Dominatrix's head was.

OOOOOOOOoooooohhhh… I see what happened. I unconsciously summoned Izanagi and used him to beat beat the racist's head in. However, I made him hit so hard, it started breaking the floor... Oops.

"Yeah. If you went any further, you would've brought the floor down with us." Yosuke deadpans "What the hell got into you?"

"I dunno…" I shrug "I guess I didn't want to stay in a room with a racist."

"What the hell made you think that Shadow was racist?!"

"The whip, the hood, and the discolored people under its subservience, duh." I didn't really need to spell it out for him, did I?

Yosuke stares at me with a dumb expression "...That, actually makes sense…" he admits before shaking his head in frustration.

As he shakes his head, muttering something along the lines of 'If I admit he's right, I'm gonna have'ta admit he's always right…', Chie suddenly rises to an upright position, wobbling back and forth.

**-"Are you okay?"**

"**Stand up."**

She groggily gets back on her feet, massaging her temples. "Ugh, what happened?"

"You fainted." I utter bluntly.

Chie rolls her eyes "Well yeah, I can see that. I meant what happened to that... thing?" She turns towards the now docile and normal looking doppelgänger (which reverted back to that form sometime after I turned away) of hers.

"**It's still there."**

**-"You know what you must do."**

Chie pouts "Okay… I know what I gotta do. God, it's so embarrassing though." She slowly approaches the thing, muttering 'You can do this…' to herself over and over again before taking a deep breath, kneeling down to it and saying "I get it, I'm not that pretty, I get jealous of the attention she gets and love the attention, but she's still my best friend and. But she's still a precious friend. You are me. A side of me I wouldn't admit. But you're still part of me."

The duplicate glances at her, almost smiling at her, before dissolving into mist. In its wake, a yellow jumpsuited figure with glowing yellow eyes piercing through a solid motorcycle helmet and a double-bladed lightsaber. Way better than the racist S&amp;M shtick it originally had, by the way.

She collapses on the ground, barely managing to sit up. She's probably more than a little exhausted from all this.

**-"Let's leave for now."**

"**Are you okay?"**

"**I'll go on ahead, you guys make sure Chie's safe for now."**

"No… _*huff*_ I can still keep going…" Chie groans out.

You look like you got hit by a truck…

"Yukiko is still in here…"

You might have that brand new persona on you, but it won't do you any good if you can't stand.

"Sensei," Teddie catches my attention "it's okay, your friend should be safe for now because she's normal."

What?

"Shadows don't attack normal people." He explains (Though how he knows that kinda makes me questions his sources) "They only become really violent when it's foggy in your world."

Fog… Fog… Well, last I checked, the weather should be fine for a week or so. I sigh. I'm sorry Yukiko, but we're gonna need to regroup. We'll come back for you tomorrow; I promise.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you all for the wait. I know it's been a while but we've been busy with classes and the stress that comes with it. We've actually been trying to update this story but we've also been trying to make this story the best it possibly could which includes making this version of Yu both as believable and as fun as possible. Which is not exactly the easiest task. Of course, we're getting along nicely, so there's that. And as usual, here's story about my brother. As I may have mentioned before, he is really good at learning new skills fast and excelling at them. So he went into archery because of a lifelong interest from playing The Legend of Zelda games and used it as his main weapon in other games. So after he bought a bow and a few arrows to try his hand at it in real life, he realized there were no archery ranges nearby. Undeterred, he made a big one in our basically unused basement. Let me reiterate; he **_**MADE**_** an archery range in our **_**basement**_**. By rearranging things in our basement, buying a target from a store and made protective precautions in case of danger, he made a fully functional archery range that he used for practice and got the hang of it within days. And not with a compound bow; he got himself a recurve bow, used for game hunting, that's far more difficult to use than a compound bow. And that's about it. Now that all's said and done, please review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Player Choices**

**By psychored1911**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 4 or Persona 4 Golden.**

**Chapter 8**

* * *

**04/18- After School**

**Shopping District**

* * *

Y'know, I don't think we actually learn anything in school. We just sit down on class, it fades to black, and then it goes to after class… Okay, I'm actually might be crazy for thinking that.

Anyways, I should go to the food court, Yosuke, Chie and I need to regroup, come up with a rescue strategy and get Yukiko out- what the hell?

I stop at the blue, transparent door sitting outside the food court… that nobody notices at all…

...This has something to do with that Velvet Room thing, didn't it?

...Ah, to hell with it. I'm coming in.

* * *

**Velvet Room**

* * *

"Welcome to the Velvet Room." Margaret greets me with an ominous smile "Well then. I shall tell you how I can offer you my assistance."

Is there an option for this or am I gonna let her keep talking?

…

No? Okay then.

"I can gather a number of the personas you possess and provide you the ability to fuse them. I have suggestions for the creation of powerful personas that may be of some use to you."

If you can do that, then why can't you just give me the strongest one upfront?

Before I can say anything back, Margaret continues "Oh, and you remember Marie, right?"

How could I not?

…

Am I gonna talk anytime soon or am I really just gonna let Margaret keep talking?

"She will be working with you on skill cards. And-"

Oh dear _god_ this is boring. I want to scream at her to get to the point but I have the feeling that Margaret can kick my ass into next week for even trying.

I wonder how it's like for Marie to listen to this all the time.

Huh… Marie…

I turn to her as She glares at me with a bored look.

Should I say something?

"**What?"**

**-"Do you want to hang out with me?"**

Oh, _now_ it shows up.

"Huh?!" She suddenly blushes "Why would I want to do that?!"

Well it's not like you're doing anything else here.

She suddenly looks down to avert her gaze, still flushed "Fine, whatever, it was getting stuffy in here anyway."

"Ladies first." I say as I open the door for her.

She walks out the door, turning her face away from mine. Not that it can hide her blushing, heh, heh, heh...

* * *

**Shopping District**

* * *

"Thanks for pulling me out of there." She says with a sigh "It was so dull in there."

"Well it's not like it's only that room, is it?" I say with a shrug.

"It's only that room." She says bluntly.

I stop and stare at her with wide eyes.

…

What?

"There's nothing else there. It's just that creepy room!" Marie frowns.

…

What?

"What's worse is that they don't even have any of those eclectic outwits!" She complains.

**Let her make increasingly less sense**

**-"...Eclectic outwits?"**

Marie rolls her eyes "You know, those things in walls that make TVs work."

Things in- _wait a minute,_ she means electric outlets. Yeah, like there'd be things like that in the back of a creepy limousine.

"What do you need elec-"

She ignores me and turns towards that steak skewer vendor

"Steak skewers?" She looks at it inquisitively before walking towards the vendor "Hey lady, I want one of those skewer things."

"Oh, hello. That will be 320 yen, please," The woman says.

Heh heh, Marie's clueless face looks hilarious.

"Yo, Narukami! Getting your steak on, huh?" Yosuke says

What the- Yosuke? Getting your steak on? Really? That's your opening line?

"Wow, she's cute." he says as he checks Marie out.

"Do you have money, I want one." Marie tells me.

"Who's this?"

"**She's an acquaintance."**

"**She's a friend."**

"**She's my sister."**

**-"This is Marie."**

...Huh, I can make a sane choice for once. They were mostly sane choices anyways, but still.

"Oh, so her name is Marie? What's your relationship with her?"

How would I know? I barely know her myself.

"**SHE'S MY WIFE!"**

**-"I met her at the train station, saved her from these two guys who were harassing her."**

Huh, being honest works. Those preachy kiddie shows were right.

Yosuke, on the other hand, just gives me a skeptic look "Uh-huh. Right."

I frown "What was that?"

"What was what?"

"You don't believe me, do you?"

"Well, normally you have something a little more… eccentric to tell me."

I fold my arms with a skeptic look "Eccentric?"

"Well, don't take this the wrong way, but..." Yosuke pauses "You're kinda- weird."

I look at him with wide eyes "I am _weird_?"

"Well, yeah-"

"I am not _WEIRD!_" I pout "I am somewhat offended you said that!"

Yosuke blinks "What?"

"How am_ I_ weird?"

"You're kidding."

"I wouldn't be asking if I was kidding!"

"Are you-" Yosuke gives me an exasperated look "have you _looked_ at yourself in the mirror?!"

"If this is about my hair-"

"I wasn't talking about that, but now that you brought it up-"

"OH HELL NO! _Bitch_ you better not be giving me crap about _my_ hair! Not with your cheap-ass hair gel!"

"What do you mean cheap-ass hair gel?!"

"If I can smell it from here, I know it's cheap!"

This conversation went on for several minutes, and the topic jumped so many times I lost count. By the end of it, I really don't recall _what_ I exactly said, now that I think about it, but it somehow ended in:

"-e fact I exist means I act like this. And yes I am real, and I am awesome for it! Now before you burn a bridge with your new best friend and a hot girl you just met, watch the master do his thing! You will not be my first student ever! I taught a kid and I can teach you. Now, OBSERVE!"

We both turn to Marie and I- and she's gone.

She's gone…

...

**-"WHERE DID SHE GO?!"**

"**Aw crap, she's gone…"**

Yosuke gives me a smug grin "Uh-huh… So, what were you saying about-"

"Dude we have to find her!" I grab at his shoulders with a panicked expression.

Yosuke reels away from me in sheer surprise "Don't you think you're overreacting a bit?"

"You don't get it, do you?" I put my face _dangerously_ close to his "she gets lost easily and she's bad with strangers. She's a friggin' ten year old in a hot hipster body!"

"That's kinda harsh-"

**-"I'm serious!"**

"**When I first met her, she was about to get assaulted by these two jerks!"**

Yosuke blinks in surprise, before nodding in agreement. "Okay, if someone like you is getting serious, I should probably take this seriously too."

Now you take me seriously?! You know whatever, priorities.

"Okay, here's the game plan!" I point downtown "You go that way while I go back uptown to check up on her. Call if she shows up, I'll teach you about girls later! We good? Good! Break!"

I dash off one way while Yosuke goes the other, rudely pushing the person behind me out of my way. Oh, I _so _don't wanna explain to Margaret how I lost her Marie!

* * *

**3 Hours Later- That Hill with a view**

* * *

WHERE IS SHE?!

How do you lose sight of a hot, hipster girl?! If it were me, I'd never take my eyes off her! Especially not her a-

"Hm… It's really green here… Green and... green. And some brown and… Darker green?"

I stop in my tracks. Was... that her?

"Leaves of green fly away, farewell to you, clouds of the sky. I fly as well, lost as the day, Farewell to you, Moon of the night." She says poetically.

Wow. that was actually pretty good- I mean THERE SHE IS! At the edge of the hills.

"THERE YOU ARE!" I scream.

She jumps as she suddenly turns to me, panicked. "W-Where did you come from?!"

"**I was behind you."**

"**WHERE WERE YOU?!"**

**-"You're talented."**

She blushes "...ShutupIhateyouyoustupidjerk! D-Don't snoop on me!"

I wasn't snooping, you were being loud in a quiet place and I was next to you. Not snooping. And on another note, What is it with you and blushing near me?

"So, why did you come here in particular?" I ask, changing the subject.

Marie, snapping out of her blushing, shrugs "I dunno. I wanted a view and there was one here."

I blink in surprise "You walked all the way here? By youself?"

"Well, you were talking to the guy with the stupid-looking hair. So I just got bored and wandered off here." She shrugs "I kinda like it here. So peaceful."

I take a deep breath; this crisp, fresh air smells so… clean… Huh, y'know I didn't think about it earlier, but this change of pace feels so… relaxing…

**Take in another deep breath**

**-Lie down on the grass**

I slowly slump down and put my back against the soft, green grass.

Marie looks at me quizzically "What're you doing?"

"Just enjoying the atmosphere…" I take another deep breath, for I am also enjoying the sight of Marie's striped panties. Oooh yeah…

"Come on. Join me. You got nothing to lose…"

I can see the gears slowly turn in Marie's head before she hesitantly lies down right next to me.

"..."

"..."

"...So, what now?" she asks, turning to me.

"We just lie down and enjoy the breeze."

"...Okay…"

We lie here for a good couple hours until I decide to return her to the Velvet Room

* * *

**Evening- Home**

* * *

I walk in and stretch my limbs. I feel like I'm forgetting something, but that's another thing. It's probably just late homework or something.

I take a seat right next to Nanako, who had got back from class earlier "Hey Nanako, is there something good on...TV…"

TV...

…

Wait a sec...

...Oh... crap.

...Oh crap!

OH CRAP!

We left Yukiko in the TV!

"Is something wrong?" Nanako asks, concerned.

"It's nothing Nanako, i just have to make a call…"

I take out my phone and call the one person whom I can right now.

"Yosuke, we forgot about Yukiko!" I yell into the phone

"I know…" he groans "Chie gave me an earful… and she made me give her your number…"

...Aw shit.

_*ring ring*_

I cringe as I hung up on Yosuke and answered the phone.

"Hey, Chie… Sorry we forgot-"

"HOW THE HELL CAN YOU FORGET YUKIKO'S STILL IN THE GODDAMNED TV?!" I yank my phone away as she screamed into my ear "TOMORROW WE'RE _GOING_ INTO THE TV AND YOU'RE NOT GONNA FORGET!"

I gulp "Yes Ma'am. I'll make it up to you, I promise!"

"No excuses!" She says as she hangs us.

Okay… dad, you were right. Angry women are friggin' terrifying.

* * *

**04/19- After School**

**Junes food court**

* * *

I went to the food court to meet up with them immediately, this time I won't get distracted, lest I invoke Chie's wrath.

Speak of the devil, Chie is there, and so is Yosuke… and she still looks pissed, and she's been taking it out on Yosuke… Ouch… Critical hit to the nads, indeed...

She comes up to me, angry as she was earlier.

"We're getting Yukiko out today."

"Yes ma'am…"

"You're NOT going to forget."

I gulp "Yes ma'am…"

* * *

**Castle Floor 2**

* * *

Two thing learned about my from my friends today, 1) they can handle themselves in a fight, 2) they run off too quickly after they beat the shadow that they don't notice that the shadow drops stuff. I mean it's only pocket change and weird materials but it's still cool.

Anyways, we're back at the 2nd floor where Chie's shadow went rampant.

I open the door slowly. I'm looking through the tiny crack I made. There's a person in there in a pink dress. Rule of thumb about girls in dresses: if it looks nice and compliments her body figure, she's hot. If it looks weird and out of place… she's friggin' nuts.

Pink princess european ballgown with matching armlength gloves. And from the looks from behind her, a matching tiara… Fits the castle theme… Yes… and the same Yukiko was wearing on the midnight Channel... It might be Yukiko… but it's crazy… and crazy in a place like this is probably dangerous. Maybe we can **sneak up on crazy-looking Yukiko**, or **sneak past crazy-looking Yukiko** or maybe even **find an alternate route and avoid her altogether.**

I'm just gonna back away slowly an-

"Yukiko, are you in here?!" Chie says as she slams the door open.

...Or _**-we can slam the door open and get her instant attention…**_

"_*Chuckle* Heehee… Ahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"_

Probably shadow Yukiko- Check.

Crazy laugh from the crazy person- Check.

Scared of what's gonna happen next- Double check.

Fake Yukiko turns around _"Oh my! Special guests? I wonder how they'll play into this."_

I don't even want to know what's she's talking about… But I have the feeling she's gonna explain anyway.

She pulls out a mic out of nowhere and chuckles _"Things are really heating up! Okie-dokie!" _She winks at us _"I'm going back to hunt for my Prince Charming! OOOOh where could he be…?"_

I know I normally want to be guy of some girl's dreams… but this is just too weird even for my blood.

"_This place is huge! It's sooo exciting, but it makes it so hard to find him! Ooh! Maybe he's playing hide-and-seek in the fog! Ready or not, here I come!"_

Maybe he's hiding from you on purpose! I would understand if a guy is running away from a crazy chick in a dress.

"_Let's go further in then, shall we?!"_ The cheap sign from the midnight channel is back! And it looks even more stupid in real life…

"You're not Yukiko. Who are you?!" chie asks.

"_What are you talking about? I'm Yukiko… and Yukiko is me."_

"You're not- Where's the real Yukiko?" chie says

There are disembodied voices. It's kinda creepy.

"The shadows are getting agitated!" teddie says

"_Well, I'm off again! Heehee! You'd better be waiting with the bells on, my dear prince!"_ she says as she runs off.

Y'know, I remember when I was a kid and I wanted to be the prince who sweeps the princess off her feet… I'm over it… 100% over it… partially because it's kinda sexist by this day and age, but still. I really hope she was talking about someone else… I mean the wedding bells thing this early would make any dude run with their tail between their legs.

"That clearly wasn't the real Yukiko, it must be…"

"I think it was. It must have been the other part of herself."

"So it's just like what happened to us…"

"But I don't think she was excited for nothing. The real Yukiko wants to show us something. I can feel it. It's hard to explain… It seems like she has a strong connection to this castle… This is a lot more dangerous than I thought!"

Great, just what we need, a cryptic explanation…

"Yukiko…" Chie runs off

"Hey… Not again!" Yosuke curses under his breath "Dammit, we told her not to run off on her own!

"Then after her!" I yell as I give chase.

* * *

**Later**

**Castle floor 3**

* * *

Where are you you copycat?!

We're gonna find you! Believe it!

* * *

**Later**

**Castle floor 4**

* * *

I'm getting a little tired. But *huff* I can still keep going…

How many floors are in this stupid castle?

* * *

**Later**

**Castle floor 5**

* * *

_*huff* _Who is the freakin' architect?! _*huff* _ This place is huge! _*huff* _ And _*huff* _poorly _*huff* _built! I don't think _*huff* _these floors are even _*huff* _the same shape! The stairs _*huff* _ on each floor _*huff* _are nowhere close _*huff* _to each other! How is this thing _*huff* _even stable?! And 5 floors _*huff* _with no furniture _*huff* _or _*huff* _bathroom! Worst _*huff* _Castle _*huff* _ever!

* * *

**Later**

**Castle- The stairs between floor 5 and 6**

* * *

I _*huff*_ HATE _*huff*_ STAIRS!  
Why did this place's architect not make an elevator?!

* * *

**Later STILL**

**Castle floor 6**

* * *

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-

* * *

**LATER AGAIN**

**Castle floor 7**

* * *

I'm _*huff* _gonna throw _*huff*_ the architect_ *huff* _of this shitty _*huff* _castle down each _*huff* _and every _*huff* _single _*huff* _last _*huff* _staircase _*huff* _in _*huff* _this _*huff* _castle!

Oh god, why are there so many stairs?!

* * *

**LATER. YET. AGAIN.**

**Castle floor 8**

* * *

This _*huff* _better _*huff* _be _*huff* _the _*huff* _last _*huff* _floor…

Oh God _*huff*_, I'm so ti-

_*THUD*_

I collapse on the floor with Yosuke and Teddie not that far behind. They must have been tired too.

But…

"What happened to you guys?" Chie asks in concern, somehow standing straight and breathing normally.

No, seriously. She doesn't even seem that tired._ HOW IS SHE OKAY?!_

"**We're **_***huff***_** just **_***huff***_** tired."**

**-"How **_***huff* **_**are **_***huff* **_**you **_***huff* **_**not **_***huff***_** tired?!"**

Chie shrugs "I just exercise a lot. This is nothing. But you were fine the other day."  
"That was because _*huff* _it was only 2 floors and _very *huff* few *huff* shadows_. Not eight floors _*huff*_, sixteen flights of stairs _*huff* _and _shadows! shit *huff*t ons of shadows!" _Not to mention the giant knight in shining armor with a horse and a ginormous lance of all things! Dick Move, Fake Yukiko. Dick move.

Good god, I'm only fit because I eat right, not because I hit the gym every week. Maybe I should get some exercise...

**-"Can I work out with you sometime?"**

"**Give us a minute to catch our breaths..."**

"Huh?!" Chie flushes red "Where did that come from?!"

"Dude," Yosuke wheezes "I don't think _*huff*_ now is the time to ask a girl on a date."

First off _*huff*_, there is never a wrong time… and second _*huff* _I just need some exercise.

"Would it break your heart if we did something together?"

Hey, her face is red… _*huff* _Which is weird because I'm not even _*huff* _ trying to flirt. I'm genuinely trying to ask her to work out with me_._

"I-I'll think about it… L-let's just keep going…" she says as she walks away.

"Sensei _*huff*_ you really _*huff*_ are amazing!"

"Dude _*huff*_ you gotta tell me your secret to girls one of these days."

All in due time Yosuke. All in due time.

We get up from the floor and slowly stagger to the door. I open the door a crack.

There's 2 of them! The one in the kimono is probably her. Okay, calm down, think of it like a heist. You're good with heists…

Two of them, the one closer to you is the one you have to stea- i mean rescue, not steal, rescue- and the one further away is probably the copycat that is dangerous when aggravated but is just unpleasant to be around when it's human. We could just **grab Yukiko and go, **or** whack the fake before it turns into a giant monster or-**

Chie crashes through the door. "Yukiko!"

**-or we can do **_**THAT**_** again…**

"I knew it… there's two of her!" Yosuke points accusingly at the Fake Yukiko.

Dude, where were you when I was peeking through the crack in the door.

"_Oh? Oooooooooh, what's this? Three princes are here to see me!? My my!"_ Fake Yukiko gasps in a sultry voice.

I am really hoping she's not talking about me.

"_Are you the surprise guests who came in late?"_

You just- you saw

"_Awwwwwww… I wish I'd gotten a better look at you! My, it's getting crowded here. Why don't you and I go somewhere else…? A land far, far away, where no one knows me. If you're my prince, you'd take me there, won't you? C'mon… pretty please?"_

Normally I would be all over this but this is just too much for me.

"Oooh. Is this 'scoring a hot stud'?!" Teddie asks excitedly.

No, Teddie, no it is not…

"Three princes…?" Chie looks at me and Yosuke before pointing at herself "Wait, does that include me too?"

"Duh! The third one's gotta be me!" Teddie declares.

Yosuke rolls his eyes "I seriously doubt that…"

Me too. She's either talking about Chie or I count as two princes. Yeah, I'm that awesome.

"_Chie… *chuckle* Yes, she's my prince…"_

_Yeeeeeah she is-_ No bad dirty mind!

"_She always leads the way… Chie's a strong prince… Or at least, she WAS. When it comes down to it, Chie's just not good enough! She can't take me away from here! She can't save me!"_

"Yukiko…"

"No…" Yukiko says in shock as she slowly gets up.

"_Historic inn? Manager training?! I'm sick of all these things chaining me down! I never asked to be born here!" _Fake Yukiko rages _"Everything's decided for me! From how I live, to where I die! I'm so sick of it! To hell with it all! I just want to go somewhere far away… Anywhere but here… Someone, please take me away… I can't leave here on my own… I'm completely useless…"_

"Stop… Please stop…" Yukiko pleads to no avail.

"_I have no hope if I stay, and no courage to leave… So I sit on my ass hoping that someday my prince will come! I don't care where we go! Anywhere's fine! As long as it's not here, I don't give a damn! Historical tradition? Pride of the town? What a bunch of bullshit!"_

"How dare you…?"

"_That's how I really feel. Isn't that right… me?!"_

"No! No!" Yukiko clutches her head as she screams in denial "You're not me!"

Y'know, I think I'm seeing a pattern here...

"_AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Aaaaaaah!_" Fake Yukiko screams in some sort of demented bliss_ "This feels wonderful! It's building… More and more… If this keeps up… I'll... I'll…!"_

Shut up, dirty mind! DO NOT SAY ANYTHING NOW! Just shut up!

"_*chuckle* Ahahahahaha! AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"_

A dark fog surrounds Fake Yukiko and turns her into… What in the _heck _did this thing turn into?! A giant red bird with a face and a birdcage chandelier… I... can't believe I'm gonna say this, but I think the gaudy pink dress looked better in comparison to… the Harpy Lady Ripoff…

"We have to stop it! That girl's in danger!" Teddie's voice snaps me out of my inner monologue as my gaze falls upon Yukiko… who has fallen and didn't get up. I swear, why do they all fall in front of the shadow that can kill them?

"_**I am a shadow… The true self…**_" Harpy Lady Ripoff cackles as it 'dances' in place_** "Now, my prince… Why don't we dance and make merry together?"**_

In what princess story does the prince and princess fight each other!? That would make an amazing children's book, but- Actually, yeah! That actually sounds like an interesting twist to the 'prince saves the princess' stories. Okay, note to self after we beat this Shadow, I'm writing that children's bestseller!

"Hang in there, Yukiko… I'm right here for you!" Chie puts her dukes up.

"_**Oh really…? Then I'll make sure to give you plenty to deal with!"**_ Harpy Lady Ripoff snarls.

Oh great…

"_**Show me this strength of yours. Come, my prince… Heeheehee…"**_

A spotlight appears out of nowhere as a… giant medieval prince doll with an iron mask welded onto its face… Ugh, must've been ugly as fuck if the mask's an _improvement_.

**Attack the Harpy Lady Rippoff**

**Attack the Ugly Prince Doll.**

**Think up better names. Seriously, Harpy Lady Ripoff and Ugly Prince Doll? Come on, you can do better than that.**

**-"Izanagi! Batter up!"**

I crush the tarot card, and Izanagi comes swinging, knocking a home run into the Harpy Lady Ripoff's Cage, throwing it into the Ugly Prince Doll.

_*SMACK!*_

The Ugly Prince Doll slams into the throne, motionless as the Giant Heavy Metal Bird Cage swings… back…

Towards…

Me…

…

"SHI-"

_*THWACK!*_

The cage sends me flying through the win- HOLY SHIIIII-"

"Narukami!"

"Narukami!"

"Sensei!"

-IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!"

**Die screaming like a baby**

**Grab the ledge**

**-Stab the ledge and hope cartoon physics are in effect**

I plunge my sword into the wall, the sudden stop nearly tearing my arm off.

"Narukami!" Yosuke peeks his head out the window "You alright?!"

"Does it look like I'm alright?!" I bark "I'm dangling out a building with a crazy dude's sword as my only lifeline!"

"Just- do you think you can get back up?" He asks awkwardly.

I turn my head "I-I think there's a couple footholds and a window nearby… Give me a minute..."

I pull out my sword from the wall, latch on to ledges and crash through the window. Okay, good news, I didn't plummet to my death. The bad news, I think I'm in some backroom. Gimme a sec, lemme just walk through this hallway and- Wait a sec, if I fell _down_ and ended up in the window right below…

Oh. No.

I'm back on the seventh floor.

…

…

Fuck.

* * *

**Castle floor 7**

* * *

SCREW _*huff*_ YOU, _*huff* _YOU _*huff* _GOD _*huff* _FORSAKEN _*huff* _STAIRS!

* * *

**Castle floor 8**

* * *

_*huff* _Oh God, _*huff* _I'm alive… It took me _*huff* _a good _*huff* _twenty _*huff* _minutes, but I'm _*huff* _alive...

Okay, _*huff* _how did _*huff* _they do? Lessee _*huff* _here… Okay, the _*huff* _Ugly Prince _*huff* _Doll is _*huff* _gone… that's a plus… _*huff* _And… t_*huff* _he Harpy Lady _*huff*_ Ripoff's cage is badly dented… _*huff* _good job… _*huff* _guys.

"Sensei!" Teddie runs over to me "Are you okay?"

"Just peachy…" I pant, catching my breath "What about Chie and Yosuke?"

"Jiraiya!"

"Tomoe!"

I am answered by their Personas charging the Rubber Chicken from both sides, crushing the cage and exposing the Harpy Lady Ripoff inside. The two quickly turn to me and nod in acknowledgement.

Alrighty… good work guys… Okay… I can work with this… I can take over from here… This is for making me walk up another flight of stairs, you red robin bitch.

**[All-Out Attack!]**

**-[Persona Change]**

** Izanagi**

** -Jack Frost-**

** Pixie**

"You're wide open!" I crush the tarot card and out comes the snowman with an awesome blue hat. He was made of snow but the children know that he came to life one day. Hehe- I mean focus!

"Jack Frost! Freeze her to the core! Bufula!"

Ice engulfs the Harpy Lady Ripoff before imploding upon it, turning the icy coating into razor-sharp shrapnel that perforated the shadow until it finally collapsed, motionless.

"Yukiko! Are you okay!?" Chie says, making a beeline to her collapsed friend.

"I'm… okay…" Yukiko groans as she struggles to stand stumbling awkwardly as Chie catches her.

I turn around as the Harpy Lady Ripoff devolves into the ugly prom dress fake Yukiko.

Upon turning to it, Yukiko flinched, reeling away from the fake her "No- I'm not…"

Nonononono! I am not gonna fight that and get thrown out a window again! That was a stroke of luck at best and I _still_ had to go back up another flight of stairs!

Fortunately before she could say it again, she hesitates before shaking her head "No… that's not it…"

She slowly walks towards her shadow. "I wanted to run away, I wanted someone to save me from my fate…" "Those feelings are part of me…" She sighs, shaking her head in revelation "I understand now; despite everything… you're me."

The shadow nods, smiles even, before dissolving into mist. In it's wake appears a… flowery Ballerina/Cheerleader hybrid… fuck it… it's leagues better than a demented bird furry.

I walk over to the two girls, tucking my sword under my belt.

"C'mon, let's leave. We can talk once we're out of this terrible place."

Chie nods "Yeah, you're right."

I crouch down as she hoists Yukiko onto my back. Now… all we have have to do is… go back down… all eight floors. With Yukiko on my back.

…

…

Note to self: bring a rope or something next time.

* * *

**A/N: That took me so long to dooooooo! Thank you for your support. But out of all seriousness, how do they not get tired from walking back and forth through the dungeons? Sure, the return trip gets easier after using Trafuri but still! Anyways, I'm gonna keep this one brief because I'm gonna do another Author's note at the bottom. I'm putting my traditional story about my brother at the end because I put a little gift for you guys in the chapter. Simply put, I wanted to make a fic for Persona 5; it already came out in Japan, it didn't come out in english but I did a small preview based on the first 20-ish minutes of the game and loose translations on what happened, and subtle hints I hope you guys caught in this story. I changed up what happened slightly. So fair warning. **_**THIS IS THE OFFICIAL END OF THE CHAPTER**_**. Also- **_***SPOILER ALERT FOR PERSONA 5* Please skip all the way to the end (And probably cover the top end of your screen depending on what kind of device you're using) for the real Author's note, **_**It has some things I want to get off my chest about this story, I would like for you guys to read it Once again:.**_** *********THIS IS THE END OF THE CHAPTER. THE STORY PREVIEW HAS MAJOR SPOILERS FOR PERSONA 5. PLEASE SKIP TO THE BOTTOM (AND PROBABLY COVER UP THE TOP END OF YOU SCREEN DEPENDING ON THE DEVICE) TO AVOID SPOILERS*****************_

_**YOU'VE BEEN WARNED**_

_**Enjoy!**_

_**Also that was not as brief as I thought it would be.**_

* * *

**Thief Tactics and Player Lessons**

* * *

**?/?**

**A dark room?**

* * *

What... What happened? Argh… God, my head is spinning… it hurts so much…

Ugh…

_*shikikik*_

...Huh? I can't move my arms…

Am I… handcuffed? That can't be… good…

Okay… don't panic… don't panic…

Remember... what he taught you...

_**Lesson 72: Calm Down**_

I take a deep breath… and perfect…

Alright… what… happened…?

Can't move… much…

Come on… focus...

_**Lesson 49: Observe Anything and Everything**_

Argh… I move my cheeks… it… feels swollen… it- I was punched… repeatedly… This is good, I got something...

Okay next up… I can't move… uncomfortable chair… handcuffs… I turn my head to the side… is that a… mirror?

Mirror…

A one way mirror?

Am I… in an interrogation room?

What am I doing- Argh!

I cringe as a pain shoots up in my arm…

Wait, my arm?

**I got... a flu shot?**

**-I was... drugged.**

Wait… I got drugged… but… why would… I get drugged?

**-Try to remember**

**Focus on trying to escape**

* * *

**?/?**

**Casino?**

* * *

"What? Someone's up there!"

"Target's in sight! We'll get him immediately!"

Come and get me!

…

"Get out of there! Run!"

...

"I scanned him, it's no problem. Kick its ass, quick!"

* * *

**?/?**

**Interrogation Room?**

* * *

…The hell was that?

_*Click*_

I close my eyes and shake my head, trying to rid myself of the pain and drug-induced delirium.

They're coming closer. I think I can hear… 3 people?

"The drugs really did a number on him. Wake him up."

_*Splash*_

Geez! What the heck was that for!? Did tapping my shoulder get outdated or something!?

A dude in a suit stares at me, judgingly.

"Wakey wakey… guess what?" The suited bastard snarls "You're not going anywhere!" He kicks me in the gut, throwing me onto the floor.

Owwww… jeez… was that really necessary? That hurt like a bit- OWWWW! The bastard's stepping on my face!

"Now stay in your place and maybe I won't give you another injection!"

So I was drugged, you bastard.

"Obstruction, intimidation, collecting weapons… you probably murdered people too, didn't you? A career criminal, aren't ya?"

What the fuck is he talking about?

"You were enjoying yourself weren't you?"

The foot on my head, the kick, getting handcuffed, drugged and water in my face? I've had better days.

"You've gone too far kid!'

One of the other guys uncuffs me and pulls me on my ass as the bastard who kicked me kneels down to my level and hands me a clipboard and a pen. "Now, brat. Sign here to confess to your crimes."

"**Okay."**

"**..."**

**-Something else**

_**Lesson 32: Mess with those who really have it coming!... and then some!**_

I glare at him and snarl "I confess... to taking your fucking ex-wife on all fours!"

He freezes in shock. Yeah I saw the tan line on your finger where the ring used to be you son of a-

_*THWAAAAK*_

Bastard… kicked me in the gut… worth it!

"You cocky brat!" He snarls "Don't you think for a second that you're getting out of this without paying for your crimes! Let's go, boys. He can sign the document when I'm not in the mood to snap his neck."

He leaves and the other two guys follow his lead and lock the door behind them. As they leave, I pick the chair back up and plop myself back on it, thinking one thing and one thing only:

What did I do?

* * *

**Later**

* * *

A gray haired lady enters the room. She is dressed professionally in a black female suit. She looks vaguely familiar… I can't put my finger on it...

"So it was you…"

...What

"Those jerks…"

She looks down and my eyes follow her gaze… is that a used syringe on the floor?

"Can you even think straight?" She asks, concerned.

"**Sort of…"**

**-"Not really…"**

"Do you know who I am?"

I'm currently drawing a blank… Who are you?

"I have a pretty good idea on who you are…"

…You... do?

"You must be either really bold or really stupid to propose to my sister on more than one occasion..."

Wait... what!?

I didn't…

Okay my heads still foggy...

Wait a minute… Oh god!

* * *

**?/?**

**A busy street?**

* * *

"... I have been in love since the day we first met as children and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Marry me and I will make you the most happiest woman alive!" I get to one knee as a crowd surrounds us, staring at me and my friend with anticipatory looks.

My aforementioned friend, a beautiful, red-eyed brunette, just stares back at me, somehow managing to look mortified, embarrassed, elated and pissed at the same time. Under different circumstances, I'd take a picture…

"Okay, there are so many problems on what you just did:" She slowly said, her fists clenched and trembling "First off, we met _two months ago_! Second, we are not, nor have we ever been, dating! And third, that's not a real ring, that's _a friggin piece of candy_! So for the love of god, please stand up!"

* * *

**?/?**

**Interrogation Room?**

* * *

I have the feeling there is more to that story than I can remember.

"...then there was an instance you professed your love to her in public, in… an unfortunate place…"

Aw come on! Am I arrested for liking your sister?!

"And another instance of where she thought you were cheating on her with her friends when you two weren't even dating…"

Seriously!?

"But we'll get to that when we get there."

Yes, yes we will!

"Now for the real reason I'm here," She pauses, boring her eyes into me "please answer me this time. You're in a lot of trouble, I'm not sure that I can help you and I don't have much time. Why would you do something like this? Why be a criminal? They were too big to be pranks and I couldn't figure out your methods"

"**Would it even do anything if did?"**

"**No one would understand…"**

**-"Why do you care?"**

"I'm trying to figure out the truth while those guys want the truth, but they're more likely to beat the answers out of you and then give you the death penalty afterwards." she states in the most serious tone possible "I'll do what I can to prevent that. But before I can do anything, you need to cooperate with me. So answer my questions: Where and when did you get information about 'that world'? How do you steal people's heart? Tell me everything."

I sigh "Well, I'll try. But let me start from the beginning..."

**[Spoilers end]**

* * *

**A/N: Thank you guys for your support! I hope you enjoyed the chapter and/or the preview. Now for my usual story about my brother: As you know, he is the biggest flirt ever. It ended up with the weirdest thing that has ever happened to him and what he considers the most hilarious: He had followers. One was a "fanclub" (hard to explain but it's not the group I want to talk about). One group in particular were stalkers, at least that's what he called them. This group wasn't particularly malicious, creepy or freaky in any sense of the word, they were girls (individuals not in a group) who admired him and then, for no particular reason, he noticed that they were everywhere he went. You can argue that it was just a coincidence but even I noticed it. He went to the mall, there they were. He went to class, there they were outside his class. He left the bathroom, there they were waiting outside. He took a nap in the library (Yeah, he did that) and when he woke up, they were there, staring at him. He didn't mind at all. In fact he liked flirting with them and openly called them stalkers. What really blew me away, and everyone else away, was that these girls who stalked him were really hot. No one knows how he did it. He won't tell me. Anyway, about this story, it took me a really long time to get to this point. Sorry, college classes kind of get in the way of my writing. In all honesty, I have a bunch of these ideas for these stories. I got most of my ideas for Kanji, Rise and Naoto already planned out and some of it already written but I really don't want to take these stories day by day to get there. So what do you guys think? Should I dread by doing this story day by day with the game or skip to the major events of the game in order with the social links and other stuff as side stories? And of course, as always, please review!**


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